Congo Brazzaville
Congo demands halt of French case against its leader

afrol News, 29 April - The International Court of Justice (ICJ) today started its proceedings in the case by the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville), which is seeking to block France from putting the country's leaders, including President Denis Sassou Nguesso, on trial for crimes against humanity and torture.

Oral arguments at the ICJ court in The Hague were concluded today. The public hearings on the request for the indication of a provisional measure had been submitted by Congo Brazzaville.

After two days of public hearings, ICJ said it would deliver a decision in the coming weeks on Congo's request for an indication, which "seek an order for the immediate suspension of the proceedings being conducted by the investigating judge of the Meaux tribunal de grande instance." France asked the court to reject the request.

Last December, Congo filed a petition with the ICJ asking for an annulment of the investigation and prosecution measures taken by the French judicial authorities further to a complaint for crimes against humanity and torture filed by various associations against President Sassou Nguesso, the Minister of the Interior, Pierre Oba, and other individuals, including General Norbert Dabira, Inspector-General of the Congolese Armed Forces.

The Congolese government contends that the French judge had "ignored an official letter from the Procureur de la République of the Brazzaville Tribunal de grande instance, dated 9 September 2002, which informed him that a judicial investigation concerning the same acts was being conducted by the investigating judge of that court further to a prosecutor's application for a judicial investigation dated 29 August 2000, [and that] finally, when H.E. Mr Denis Sassou Nguesso was on a State visit to France, the investigating judge issued a warrant to police officers instructing them to take testimony from him."

On the basis of these events, the Brazzaville government maintains that by "unilaterally attributing to itself universal jurisdiction in criminal matters and by arrogating to itself the power to prosecute and try the Minister of the Interior of a foreign State for crimes allegedly committed by him in connection with the exercise of his powers for the maintenance of public order in his country," France has violated "the principle that a state may not exercise its authority on the territory of another state."

Brazzaville further submits that in issuing a warrant instructing police officers to take testimony from the President of the Republic of the Congo, France has violated a fundamental principle of international law providing for the immunity of a foreign Head of State.

Ronny Abraham, Director of Legal Affairs at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, today presented the French point of view in the case. Mr Abraham referred to both the French criminal laws and provisions in international law, in particular concerning crimes against humanity, when defending the French judge investigating the case against President Nguesso.

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