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To date, 116 countries have ratified the Rome Statute and are thus States Parties.  Established in 1998 and governed by the Rome Statute, the International Criminal Court (“ICC”), is the first permanent, treaty-based international criminal court set up to help end impunity for perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community, such as genocide and war crimes.  The foundation of the Rome Statute is its fundamental principle of complementarity: it complements, not replaces, national criminal justice systems.  The chambers of ICC would only act and prosecute on cases if, and when, national justice systems are unable or unwilling to act.  The court thoroughly investigates and reviews the evidence of each case, in addition to meticulously combing through all evidence, before pronouncing its decision.

The speakers at the forum were Shaharuddin Onn, Principal Assistant Secretary, Department of Research, Treaties and International Laws, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and N Sivananthan, a Member of the Malaysian Bar who is one of the counsel to represent accused persons at the ICC and currently also serves as Vice-President (Asia Pacific) of the International Criminal Bar.  The forum was moderated by Andrew Khoo, Chairperson of HRC.

In the lively forum, the speakers discussed the topic in a direct and succinct manner, dealing with the current domestic run-up to the much-awaited ratification.  Shaharuddin Onn informed the audience that during ministerial discussions, there were initially arguments for and against the ratification of the Rome Statute.  These included the Rome Statute’s supposed incompatibility with the Malaysian common law system and the fact that up to today, the nation still lacked the necessary domestic legal provisions to implement and enforce the Rome Statute locally.  However, he made it clear that the Rome Statute's overriding principle of complementarity to the national jurisdiction and national courts was the bedrock of ICC.  Therefore, being a State Party to the Rome Statute would complement the existing Malaysian legal system. 

N Sivananthan agreed with Shaharuddin Onn, and elaborated that the benefits of being a State Party were enormous to a developing country like Malaysia.  He emphasised that as one of the major players in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (“ASEAN”) and a respected country not only within the region, but globally as well, Malaysia was well-poised to reap the benefits of being a State Party in every aspect.  He added that as a developing nation, it augured well for Malaysia to become a State Party, for the ratification of the Rome Statute would demonstrate respect for humanity, life and the principles associated with international transparency and accountability.  Both N Sivananthan and Shaharuddin Onn stressed that Malaysia was in a prime position to take the lead and set the standard.

The two speakers concluded the forum by pointing out that Malaysia had every benefit to gain from being a State Party to the Rome Statute.  They agreed that by ratifying the Rome Statute, Malaysia would move in the right direction internationally.  As the Malaysian Government had approved the ratification of the Rome Statute in March this year, it was merely a matter of time until the instrument was signed and deposited at the United Nations headquarters in New York.