BCL partner John Binns has been quoted in The Times’s discussing the practicalities of launching an international anti-corruption court and the operational difficulties it could encounter to implement the good intentions of the United Nations Convention against corruption.

Here is a short extract from the article*. If you wish to read the full article, please visit The Times website.

”Last week the justice secretary told The Times that the UK would provide financial, logistical and intelligence support to the UN court in the Hague and that the government would be “open” to detaining Putin or any Russian commander found guilty of war crimes.

Others anticipate that the ICC and its chief prosecutor, the English QC Karim Khan, will be hamstrung by Russia’s ability as a permanent member of the UN security council to veto any charge of aggression levelled against the Kremlin. A way round that problem is being promoted by Gordon Brown and John Major. The former prime ministers are calling for the creation of a bespoke criminal tribunal for the Ukraine war.

…John Binns, a partner at BCL Solicitors, agrees that launching the court “would be far from straightforward to achieve”. He says: “Apart from the challenges in defining what kinds of conduct would and wouldn’t be included, many states — the UK included — may well think twice before signing up to the idea that allegations of such conduct should be handled in this way.””

*This article was first published by The Times on 31 March 2022. If you wish to read the full article, please visit The Times website.

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