Former US national security adviser John Bolton said the International Criminal Court lacks jurisdiction. Reuters
Former US national security adviser John Bolton said the International Criminal Court lacks jurisdiction. Reuters
Former US national security adviser John Bolton said the International Criminal Court lacks jurisdiction. Reuters
Former US national security adviser John Bolton said the International Criminal Court lacks jurisdiction. Reuters

John Bolton says US should not co-operate with 'illegitimate' ICC


Laura O'Callaghan
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The US should not co-operate with the “illegitimate” International Criminal Court, former national security John Bolton has said in a stinging rebuke of the body as prosecutors began to gather in London.

Mr Bolton, 74, made the comments during a visit to London on Monday as justice ministers from around the world gathered in the city to how they can support the ICC in holding war criminals to account for atrocities in Ukraine.

Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, warned the court would not hesitate to take action against possible war crimes in Ukraine as he issued a call for more funding for investigations.

Mr Bolton, who served as US ambassador to the UN in George W Bush’s administration and national security adviser to Donald Trump, said the multilateral institution had no jurisdiction.

“I believe, as I have for many years, [that] the International Criminal Court is fundamentally illegitimate,” he told Sky News. “It’s not something the United States should co-operate with.”

While Mr Putin’s actions against the Ukrainian people cannot be excused, it is not the ICC’s place to prosecute him for alleged crimes that had happened during the conflict, he said.

Ukraine or “a free Russia” would be better placed to try the Russian leader on war crimes charges, Mr Bolton said.

“The International Criminal Court is illegitimate because it is an exercise of governmental power in a vacuum, without any constitutional framework or restraint. And it’s a very dangerous institution,” Mr Bolton said.

The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. EPA
The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. EPA

“I think the conduct of the International Criminal Court is potentially threatening at this point to a diplomatic solution in Ukraine.”

ICC judges issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russian commissioner for children's rights, on war crimes charges of illegally deporting Ukrainian children following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Mr Bolton dismissed the warrant for Mr Putin's arrest and said “nothing will happen”.

Justice ministers from more than 40 countries gathered at Lancaster House, on the edge of St James’s Park, on Monday morning to discuss building support for the ICC as it probes possible war crimes in Ukraine.

Britain pledged £1 million ($1.2m) this year for the court, based in The Hague in the Netherlands.

An additional package of about £400,000 was put forward by London to pay for witnesses and victims of crimes to receive psychological support, and also equip the ICC with British expertise.

Other countries are tipped to commit to render financial and practical assistance.

UK Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Dominic Raab is hosting the high-level talks.

“We are gathering in London today, united by one cause, to hold war criminals to account for the atrocities committed in Ukraine during this unjust, unprovoked and unlawful invasion,” he said.

“The UK, alongside the international community, will continue to provide the International Criminal Court with the funding, people and expertise to ensure justice is served.”

Ukraine’s Minister of Justice Denys Maliuska and the country’s top prosecutor Andriy Kostin would be attending.

UK Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, left, greets the ICC's chief prosecutor Karim Khan at Lancaster House in London. Photo: Yui Mok
UK Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, left, greets the ICC's chief prosecutor Karim Khan at Lancaster House in London. Photo: Yui Mok

Mr Khan, who is also on the guest list, last December called on the international community to double down on its support for the court, which requires vast amounts of financial and technical resources to conduct its investigations.

Speaking before the conference opened, Mr Khan said the ICC had a standard that it had to meet in terms of criminal prosecutions.

“We can't do everything at once,” he told BBC radio. “We don't have unlimited resources.”

However, if reliable evidence has been gathered and “there's no exonerating evidence that mitigates or reduces the criminal responsibility, we won't hesitate to act”, he said.

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

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The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

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Updated: March 20, 2023, 5:59 PM`