US will sign up, predicts judge

International Criminal Court: The US government will sign up to the International Criminal Court "in time", the court's first president, Judge Philippe Kirsch, has predicted.

Judge Kirsch, who received an honorary degree from NUI Galway yesterday, defended the international court against US criticisms, and pointed out that the legal basis for the court was such that it was impossible for it to pursue "politically-motivated prosecutions".

Established in 2003, the International Criminal Court has been acknowledged as the most important new international organisation since the foundation of the United Nations. Some 139 states have now signed the Rome Statute providing for the court, and 94 have ratified it, but there has been considerable international criticism of the US government's failure to sign up.

The US disability rights campaigner, Prof Lex Friedan was also conferred with an honorary degree at NUI Galway, along with the Yeats scholar, Prof Roy Foster, and Dr John Mannion of St John's Memorial University, Newfoundland, who has document all aspects of Irish migration to Newfoundland.