ICC - Japan Endorsed a Special Envoy to Run for Judge’s Position

Japan endorsed Fumiko Saiga, its special envoy on human rights issues, to run for one of the three vacant positions for a judge at the International Criminal Court.^[1] An election will take place in December of 2007.^[2] As we reported previously, Japan is scheduled to formally join the ICC in October, which currently has 104 state parties. Mr. Saiga was appointed in December 2005 as a special envoy to oversee human rights issues.^[3] One of the issues, in which Japan is trying to engage the international community, is the cases of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea.^[4]

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[1] Japan fields human rights envoy as Int'l Criminal Court judge, Associated Press Release, US/Eastern, July 6, 2007.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.