- (AFP) -- The Belgian government decided to repeal a controversial
war crimes law that has been used in attempts to indict leaders around
the world for crimes against humanity.
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- The "universal competence" law will be withdrawn
and replaced with a new text that has considerably less scope and is more
in line with other western countries, Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt told
a press conference.
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- The 1993 law dragged Belgium into a diplomatic minefield
as cases were brought against US President George W. Bush and British Prime
Minister Tony Blair, among others, accusing them of war crimes over the
war in Iraq.
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- The existing law gives Belgian courts the right to judge
anyone accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide, regardless
of the suspect's country of origin or where the crime took place.
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- Senior US officials, including Secretary of State Colin
Powell, had warned that the law could threaten Belgium's standing as home
to international institutions including the European Union and NATO.
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- A final version of the new text will be drawn up in a
week's time after taking advice from the relevant state bodies, the Belga
news agency reported Sunday. The law could then be voted on by lawmakers
before parliament breaks for summer recess in early August.
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- The new law will be drastically reduced in scope.
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- Immunity will be accorded to foreign leaders and a direct
link with Belgium must exist before victims can file a legal suit.
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- "The legislation will be comparable to that in other
western countries," Verhofstadt said in a press conference, commenting
on his first decision after being sworn in for a second mandate as Belgium's
prime minister.
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- In cases where a victim is claiming damages in a criminal
case, the suit can only be filed if either the defendants' primary residence
is located in Belgium or they hold Belgian nationality.
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- A victim not seeking damages can still however ask a
federal judge to bring a case if the victim is Belgian or has lived in
the country for at least three years at the time of the alleged crime.
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- Before taking action, the federal judge must "take
into consideration multilateral treaties, such as those in the European
Union or the North Atlantic," Verhofstadt said as quoted by Belga.
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