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Letter of the Women's Caucus for Gender Justice to the President of the Republic of Argentina
27 November 2002 Señor Fax: 0541143442682 Your Excellency, Mr. President: On behalf of the Women's Caucus for Gender Justice, I am writing to you about the nomination of Mr. Antonio Boggiano as a candidate for the International Criminal Court. In effect, this seems to us a bad signal to the international community and to the non-governmental organizations involved in the creation of the ICC, that Mr. Boggiano would be nominated without regard to the mechanisms established by the Rome Statute for the nomination of judges. The fact that Mr. Boggiano was a judge of the Supreme Court does not exempt him from the provisions established in Article 36.4. Moreover, on its face it shows a worrying disposition with regard to to the transparency required in the nomination process. Mr. Boggiano does not fulfill the requirements of the Rome Statute. In the first place, the candidate does not have any experience in subjects necessary for the ICC and neither is he an expert in international law. In the second place, and more seriously, is his questionable moral character as evidenced by numerous cases that have been brought against him for corruption. We regret that Argentina, which played such a strong and important role in the process of negotiations of the ICC, is breaking with this tradition and, more, does not recognize the mechanisms established by the Rome Statute for the nomination process. We regret also that the presidency has ignored the National Group of the Permanent Court of Arbitrators, which had already nominated Ms. Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi, in accordance with the procedure established in Article 36(4)(a)(ii) of the Rome Statute. We are aware of the difficult situation in Argentina and stand in solidarity with those forces that work to rise above the situation. Nevertheless, we believe that the nomination of Mr. Boggiano does not contribute anything but instead confounds international opinion in relation to the direction in which Argentina wants to continue. We petition you, Mr. President, to reconsider this nomination for the benefit of one of the most important institutions begun in this century: the International Criminal Court. Sincerely, Lorena Fries Monleón |