By IRNA,
London : The British government is still seeking a way to change the law on universal jurisdiction to prevent Israeli leaders from being arrested for alleged war crimes, Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke has confirmed.
“We are urgently considering how to proceed and expect to make an announcement shortly,” Clarke said when asked if the government had plans to bring forward proposals to meet the pledge made by the Conservatives before taking office.
“The Government consider it unsatisfactory that an arrest warrant for such offences can be issued on the application of a private prosecutor on the basis of evidence that would be insufficient to sustain a prosecution,” he told MPs on Tuesday.
Foreign Secretary William Hague disclosed in May that the new coalition government with the Liberal Democrats had “not yet determined the exact action that we will take on universal jurisdiction.”
“This is a coalition Government and we have to discuss together the way forward, although we are absolutely clear that the current situation cannot be sustained,” Hague said.
Before taking office, the Conservatives made an election pledge in the Jewish Chronicle that “universal jurisdiction will be amended at the earliest opportunity to enable Israelis to visit the UK”.
Defending the government’s position, Clarke insisted that Britain “must enforce properly in respect of war crimes and other matters of universal jurisdiction where proper cases arise.”
But it was “not in any sense in this country’s interests that people can be arrested upon arrival on a level of evidence that would not remotely sustain a prosecution,” he said.
The Conservatives’ reported plans are to change the law so that only the Crown Prosecution Service will be able to initiate prosecutions for universal jurisdiction offences.
It comes after the previous Labour government also pledged to change the law last December when former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni was forced to cancel a visit to the UK after an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes was issued in London.
But the attempt was thwarted by 145 MPs signing an Early Day Motion to parliament warning that they would vote against any change to the law that allows the public to apply for arrest warrants for suspected war criminals.
Among those opposing were 53 of the current 62 Lib Dem MPs, including two who are now cabinet ministers, Business Secretary Vince Cable and Energy Secretary Chris Huhne as well as 11 more who hold ministerial posts.