In the document on the Rules of the Proceedings and Evidence of the International Criminal Court, there is not any reference to the requirements that must possess those who taje part in the extraction of organic samples, according to Procedural Law UGR Professor Francisco J. Fontecilla Rodríguez, in his paper “Proceedings before the Criminal Court. Statements on the Spanish contributions” published by the Journal of the Faculty of Law.
Professor Fontecilla sings the praises of the international effort and collaboration that made possible the document on the rules of Proceedings and evidence passed by the Preparatory Committee of the International Criminal Court of the United Nations, together with the Statute of Rome passed by the International Conference of Plenipotentiaries and describes it as the “Rubicon of the juridical procedural history of Humanity”, but he regrets that the scientific evidence has been left devoid of regulation, especially DNA analysis.
Juridical gaps
According to Professor Fontecilla there is a gap regarding to the requirements that must be possessed by those who work on organic sample extraction, their custody line, analysis carrying out, laboratories´ homologation criteria, data storage, computer treatment, etc.”
However, despite the lacks of the document, according to Fontecilla it is an important advance, as “never before humanity had had a permanent and universal instrument of jurisdictional protection to judge persons that guaranteed the quadruple exigency of legality that the civilization and human rights require.”
Francisco J. Fontecilla has been member of the Spanish Delegation in the International Conference of Plenipotentiaries (ICP) for the setting of the International Criminal Court, in the Preparatory Committee of the United Nations to prepare the rules of development of the Statute of Rome, and in the First Assembly of States of the ICP.
Reference: Prof Francisco J. Fontecilla Rodríguez
Dpt of Procedural Law. Phone number. 958 248 354 (direct) / 958 243 427 (department)
E-mail. derechop@ugr.es
