President Song’s official visit to Japan

ICC-CPI-20091218-PR486

The President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Judge Sang-Hyun Song, will pay an official visit to Japan from 21 to 22 December 2009. The visit will provide an opportunity for President Song to thank the government for Japan’s continued support of the Court.

In Tokyo, President Song will meet with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Minister of Foreign Affairs Katsuya Okada, Minister of Justice Keiko Chiba, and the Director General of the International Legal Affairs Bureau, Koji Tsuruoka. He will brief these officials on the latest judicial developments at the Court.

In his official meetings, President Song will discuss possible ways in which Japan and the ICC can work together to extend the reach of the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC, in the Asian region. To date there are 14 Asian State Parties, including Japan. The President will also raise the issue of possible collaboration in assisting other States to realise the principle of complementarity. Complementarity means that States – not the ICC – have primary responsibility to genuinely investigate and prosecute crimes under the Rome Statute.

This trip concludes a cycle of official visits to Asia (including Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal and Bangladesh) by Judge Song this year. As the first Asian President of the ICC, one of his main external relations priorities has been encouraging a broader adoption of the Rome Statute, especially in a region still under-represented among States Parties.

---

For further information please contact Ms Sonia Robla, Head of Public Information and Documentation Section at +31 (0)70 515-8089 or +31 (0) 6 46 44 87 26 or at sonia.robla@icc-cpi.int.