London - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
(above) has apologized to the ex-Israeli foreign
minister Tzipi Livni (middle) for a UK court arrest warrant to detain
her for atrocities committed by Israel during its assault on Gaza last
year which left over 1,350 Palestinians dead, should she embark on a UK
trip. Several other Israeli officials have also canceled visits to Britain because of similar warrants issued after the Israeli devastating offensive against Gazans at the turn of the
year. Brown has also pledged to transform the
British legal system. Israel has canceled all senior-level official visits until the matter is
resolved.
It all began when the Westminster magistrates' court issued a warrant for Livni's arrest at the request of lawyers acting on behalf of Palestinians claiming victimhood during a three-week Israeli offensive. The idea was to arrest Livni this past Sunday, Dec. 13, while she was in London to give a talk. Unbeknown to the magistrate who issued the warrant, Livni had canceled her address weeks earlier. The court abruptly rescinded the warrant once it learned she was not in the country, but the damage was already done.
All of this might seem odd if you haven't been following trends in international law of late. Under the doctrine of universal jurisdiction, national courts can prosecute serious human rights violations committed anywhere in the world, provided an arrest warrant has been issued. In the case at hand, the ammunition for the
'war crimes' allegation stems from the controversial Goldstone Report, which found evidence of such crimes in the Gaza conflict and which was endorsed by the U.N. General Assembly in November.
What makes the U.K. such fertile ground for pursuing these sorts of claims is a feature of English and Welsh law. Specifically, although the issuing of criminal charges by judges must involve the attorney general, issuing an arrest warrant does not. Instead, it is up to a magistrate or district judge to consider whether there is sufficient evidence to pursue an arrest. Which means
- as in the famous arrest of former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet
(below) here in 1998 - you can launch a surprise
attack. Pinochet was arrested while visiting the United Kingdom for medical
treatment, on a Spanish warrant for the murders of Spanish citizens in Chile while he was
president. After having been placed under house arrest in Britain and initiating a judicial battle, he was eventually released in March 2000 on medical grounds without facing
trial.
