From: wsargeant@IGC.ORG (Winslow L. Sargeant)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african
Subject: IPS:Libya, international court to give
Date: 14 Apr 92 15:55:59 GMT
Article-I.D.: cdp.9204141555.AA04290

/* Written  8:03 am  Apr 14, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "LIBYA: International Court to give " ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: LIBYA: International Court to give verdict Tuesday


the hague, apr 11 (ips) -- the international court of justice here
will announce its verdict on tuesday in the case in which libya is
trying to prevent the united states and britain from pressuring
tripoli into handing over two libyan suspects in an airplane
bombing.

the preliminary verdict will be made public just one day before
the april 15 deadline, set by the u.n. security council, for libya
to extradite the two libyans suspected of bombing pan am flight
103 in december 1988.

the security council last week voted to impose sanctions against
libya if the north african nation does not hand over the suspects
to the u.s. or britain by wednesday.

if libya does not comply with the resolution, u.n. members are
urged - not obliged - to take economic sanctions against libya, as
well as impose air and arms embargoes.

but libya is asking the court for provisional measures which
would prevent the u.s. and britain from taking any coercive action
against tripoli if it fails to surrender the two accused.

the public hearings ended on march 28, shortly before the u.n.
security decision.

legal experts think it is unlikely that the court will interfere
with u.s. and british initiatives within the security council. but
should libya win the case, it would indeed be a landmark decision.

''libya is the first state trying to use the court of justice to
undo the work of the security council,'' said u.s. lawyer edwin
williamson, who is representing the united states in the case.

he argued that should the court rule in favour of libya it would
have serious implications for the future relationship of the two
bodies.

the libyan representatives on the other hand argued that the two
were separate bodies and entitled to come to their own
conclusions.

''it is up to the creativity of the judges to find a solution,''
says marcel brus, professor of law at the university of leiden.

libya brought the case under the montreal convention (1971) for
the suppression of unlawful acts against the safety of civil
aviation.  the convention, signed by all three nations, makes
extradition a viable alternative once all the parties involved,
cooperate. (more/ips)

libya: international court to give verdict tuesday(2-e)

libya: international (2)

however, there is also a provision which states that if the
parties involved do not agree, then they can seek the recourse of
the international court of justice.

according to brus, one option the court could take is make a
preliminary decision whereby the two suspects are handed over to a
neutral country until the court passes its final verdict.

tripoli is fully in favour of such a decision, but both london
and washington are adamant that the suspects be brought to justice
in either britain or the united states as soon as possible, and
they are uncertain as to when a final decision might be reached.

the court could also decide that it has no jurisdiction on the
matter as argued by both the british and u.s. representatives.

nico schrijver, professor of international law at the institute
of social sciences in the hague, notes that the court may have
been pressed into making a speedy decision in view of the u.n.
security council deadline.

schrijver, who recently worked for six months as legal adviser to
the u.n. in new york, however believes that no matter what the
verdict, the security council is unlikely to press for any
resolution which would involve the use of violent force against
libya.

the u.n. charter allows for the use of violence only when there
is an impending ''serious threat'' to international peace and
security

but as far as sanctions are concerned, schrijver said: ''in view
of the charges of state-sponsored terrorism by libya the united
states and great britain are fully entitled to take economic
sanctions.  they don't even need a u.n. resolution for
that.''(end/ips/ip/jo/dd/92)