If it is ineffectual, no one gains and in fact this would be a waste of our time,'' Annan told a news conference. Meanwhile, in another reminder of why a permanent court is necessary, NATO forces today arrested a Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect near Sarajevo, accused of atrocities committed at a prison during the war. A court has been set up on a temporary basis in the Hague for Yugoslav war crimes. The world tribunal would supersede such courts. The road to a world court is sure to be long and hard.
Success is by no means certain.
Delegates from more than 180 nations must wrestle with basic issues, such as the powers granted the prosecutor, what will set a prosecution in motion, how much influence the U.N. Security Council and its members will have over the court's functioning and what crimes it will cover. Britain, alone among the Security Council permanent members, seeks more independence for the court. All parties basically agree that the court will target genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Defendants will be individuals, unlike at the existing International Court of Justice at The Hague, where nations lodge complaints against nations. The court would take on a limited number of cases and not duplicate national efforts.