European press review

The American decision to veto the renewal of the UN mission in Bosnia, in response to worldwide opposition to the US demand for immunity for its citizens from prosecution in the International Criminal Court, is widely criticized across Europe.

Russian papers welcome legal reforms that will strengthen fundamental rights and raise judicial standards in their country.

Anger over American 'arrogance'

The Austrian and German press condemn the Bush administration's veto of the renewal of the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia after the UN Security Council refused to give US soldiers immunity from prosecution by the new International Criminal Court.

An attack on the idea that modern states are guided by justice, not strength

Sueddeutsche Zeitung

Vienna's Die Presse says Washington has shown that it has no intention of subjecting its role as "world policeman" to any kind of international legal framework and "will only accept a world order cut to American specifications".

"The United States has picked a fight with the whole civilized world on this question."

Germany's Frankfurter Rundschau says the US move is the "lowest point in the George W. Bush presidency so far, which is so full of diplomatic affronts".

Washington's resistance to the International Court feeds on "ultra-conservative conspiracy theories at home" and on the "excesses of a superpower for whom binding international regulations no longer seem to apply".

Munich's Sueddeutsche Zeitung sees a long-term shift in US foreign policy behind Washington's threat - which it calls the "strongest attack yet on international law, on the fundamental idea that modern states are guided by justice, not by strength".

The Scandinavian press is equally critical of the American stance.

George W. Bush has taken a dangerous and irresponsible course

Dagens Nyheter

Denmark's Berlingske Tidende says "the American reaction is both unreasonable and worrying".

"While the US now contemplates blocking essential UN duties, it sends out a tiresome signal that it is willing to let others pay heavily for its own political cause."

Swedish broadsheet Dagens Nyheter says the US is practising a "dictatorial policy" against the United Nations.

Arrogant and unacceptable

The Independent

"The superpower is refusing to be tied by international agreements. But self-sufficiency risks a backlash," the paper warns.

"The hope of newer and broader alliances being built after 11 September has gone... George W. Bush has taken a dangerous and irresponsible course."

According to London's The Independent, the American veto "is not about the safety of US peacekeepers".

"Washington's obstinacy reflects its visceral opposition to the ICC," the paper says - its hostility is of the "same coin" as its refusal to submit to other international treaties.

"The US is arguing that its special role in world affairs makes it a special case, entitled to different treatment. But this reasoning simply will not do."

The paper describes America's behaviour as "arrogant and unacceptable" and says both peacekeeping operations and the new international court must continue, with or without the United States.

More freedom for the Russian citizen

For many Russian papers the big news is the coming into force of three bills designed to reform the Russian legal system, namely a new Criminal Procedure Code, a code on administrative offences, and a law on the legal profession.

The leading daily Izvestiya says the aim of this reform is "to put an end once and for all to the atavism of the Soviet judicial machine and to bring legal procedures as close as possible to Western standards".

"I demand to see my lawyer!"

Izvestiya

Many papers say the changes will reduce the power of prosecutors and strengthen the independence of judges. The changes are also aimed at cutting corruption in Russian officialdom and the business sector.

Most papers focus on what the new laws will mean for the Russian traffic police who are notorious for extracting bribes from motorists. Izvestiya says that from today it is illegal to give money to traffic cops. Fines will have to be paid through "credit agencies" or savings banks.

The paper points out that the new laws give citizens the right to begin any discussion with the police with the words "I demand to see my lawyer!". It concludes that "despite its disadvantages, the new Criminal Procedure Code reduces the opportunities for turning the criminal justice system into a business".

The European press review is compiled by BBC Monitoring from internet editions of the main European newspapers and some early printed editions.