Britain moves on international crime court

The British government has published 1300B draft legislation that would make it easier to try people accused of genocide and other crimes against humanity.

The legislation will allow Britain to ratify a treaty setting up an International Criminal Court -- a move which requires consent from at least sixty countries.

Only fourteen countries have so far ratified the treaty, which was approved two years ago.

It's still opposed by the United States, China and several Arab states.

But the British Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, told the BBC he was confident they would change their minds once the court had proved its worth.

Currently individual tribunals have to be set up for specific cases, such as Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. The new court would have no retrospective effect, so could not, for example, be used in cases such as that of the former Chilean military ruler, General Pinochet.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service