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Updates on Turkey

31 Dec 2005

Prime Minister Erdogan made a pledge before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on October 8, 2004 to accede to the Rome Statute: �Turkey will soon approve the Rome Agreement after completing its internal preparations and will become part of the International Court Convention�. Constitutional amendments adopted in May 2004, in particular, the amendment to Article 38 on extradition, which reads: �Except for obligations required by becoming a Party to the Statute for the ICC, no citizen shall be extradited to a foreign country on an account of an offence� (non-official translation).

The New Turkish Penal Code, which was adopted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly in September 2004, was to enter into force on 1 April 2005, included a definition of genocide and crime against humanity. A new working group under the leadership of the Ministry of Justice with the participation of the General Staff and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as prominent academicians started its work in February 2005, with the aim of elaborating and structuring the relevant articles relating to war crimes in the Turkish legislation in light of the Rome Statute. The working group will also make an assessment on whether a special act on cooperation with the ICC is needed.

Turkey is the only member of the Council of Europe which did not sign the Rome Statute.

In the European Commission (EC) Report for 2000, the EC considered whether Turkey's position on the ICC should impact its candidacy for the European Union.

At the 8th Preparatory Commission for the ICC (24 September - 5 October 2001), the representative of Turkey called for the inclusion of the crime of terrorism in the Rome Statute.

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News Browse by Region Media Digests Country Updates UN Excerpts on the ICC Updates of the Assembly Browse by Region		Updates on Turkey 31 Dec 2005 Prime Minister Erdogan made a pledge before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on October 8, 2004 to accede to the Rome Statute: �Turkey will soon approve the Rome Agreement after completing its internal preparations and will become part of the International Court Convention�. Constitutional amendments adopted in May 2004, in particular, the amendment to Article 38 on extradition, which reads: �Except for obligations required by becoming a Party to the Statute for the ICC, no citizen shall be extradited to a foreign country on an account of an offence� (non-official translation). The New Turkish Penal Code, which was adopted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly in September 2004, was to enter into force on 1 April 2005, included a definition of genocide and crime against humanity. A new working group under the leadership of the Ministry of Justice with the participation of the General Staff and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as prominent academicians started its work in February 2005, with the aim of elaborating and structuring the relevant articles relating to war crimes in the Turkish legislation in light of the Rome Statute. The working group will also make an assessment on whether a special act on cooperation with the ICC is needed. Turkey is the only member of the Council of Europe which did not sign the Rome Statute. In the European Commission (EC) Report for 2000, the EC considered whether Turkey's position on the ICC should impact its candidacy for the European Union. At the 8th Preparatory Commission for the ICC (24 September - 5 October 2001), the representative of Turkey called for the inclusion of the crime of terrorism in the Rome Statute.