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The Belgian Supreme Court will today issue its decision whether Belgium can try PM Ariel Sharon for alleged war crimes twenty years ago.
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| By Ellis Shuman February 12, 2003 |
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The Belgian Supreme Court today decided that Ariel Sharon was immune from prosecution in Belgium for alleged war crimes twenty years ago, as long as he serves as Israel's prime minister. The court thereby authorized possible prosecution of Sharon in the future. Last year a lower appeals court in Belgium ruled that the country did not have the authority to try Sharon because he was not physically present in Belgium.
The court rejected a request by the Palestinian plaintiffs, a group of survivors and relatives of victims of the 1982 massacre of Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Shatilla camps near Beirut, to delay the hearing on the grounds that they had changed their legal representative, a Justice Ministry spokeswoman said.
In June, a Belgian appeals court ruled that Belgium could not try Sharon for alleged crimes against humanity for his role in the 1982 massacres because he was not physically present in the country. "If a person is not found on the territory, we find it inadmissible," the three-judge panel said in its 22-page ruling.
But in January, the Belgian Senate adopted amendments to the country's 1993 war-crimes legislation, which gives Belgium the authority to prosecute anyone for war crimes regardless of where the crimes took place or whether the suspect or victims are Belgian.
The new amendments, which require final approval in Belgium's lower house of parliament before elections on May 18, would allow Belgium prosecutors to investigate suspected war criminals even if they do not currently reside in Belgium.
"If the appeal fails and the lower court decision is accepted, the entire case is over, even if the new law is passed," Alan Baker, legal adviser for Israel's Foreign Ministry, said Tuesday on Army Radio.
If the Supreme Court overrules the lower court decision and accepts the appeal, there would then be a procedural decision about whether Sharon's case can be brought up again under the new law, Baker said.
The case against Sharon arose from Belgian "universal jurisdiction" legislation, passed in 1993, which permits Belgian courts to try cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity and genocide, regardless of where they took place or the nationality or residence of either the victims or the accused.
Two lawsuits were filed against Sharon, charging him with responsibility for the refugees' deaths in the camps and with crimes against humanity and war crimes. Belgium's refusal to dismiss the charges severely strained its relations with Israel.
Israeli and Belgian judicial officials believe the Supreme Court will rule that Belgium is unable to bring Sharon to trial under the "universal jurisdiction" law, based on the opinion sent by Belgium's attorney general, as well as legal arguments that the claims against Sharon be rejected, Haaretz reported.
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