International Criminal Law: Prosecutions
(asked on 26th April 2023) - View Source
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Stewart of Dirleton on 25 April (HL6969), how many requests to prosecute cases of international crimes were received by the Attorney General in the last five years; and how many of those were granted.
The Attorney General’s consent is required for the prosecution in England and Wales of several international crimes. These include: grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, contrary to the Geneva Conventions Act 1957; genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes, contrary to the International Criminal Court Act 2001; torture, contrary to the Criminal Justice Act 1988; and hostage-taking, contrary to the Taking of Hostages Act 1982. In the last five years, in relation to the above international crimes, the Attorney General’s Office has received one application for consent to prosecute. Consent was not granted. |