Japan's recent announcement that it intends to join the Rome Statute, the international treaty that established the International Criminal Court, came as good news for ICC Judge Hans-Peter Kaul.
The court was set up in The Hague, Netherlands, under the statute in 2002 to deal with cases of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by individuals, but Japan had made no clear gesture about joining it until recently.
The 63-year-old president of the ICC's Pre-Trial Division expressed his expectation during a recent visit to Tokyo that the accession of Japan could lead to the overall strengthening of the court, saying it would "help prevent catastrophes and strengthen the rule of law with regard to these crises."