War Crimes and the Protection of Peacekeeping Forces

Tonight, I want to briefly discuss three aspects of the tribunal: structure, jurisdiction and U.S. participation in its creation. Many of you are probably aware that the tribunal consists of three chambers. The judicial chamber is comprised of five appellate judges and two trial panels of three judges each. The United States has a judge - Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald - who, before she went to the Hague was a federal district court judge and a professor at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston.

I had an opportunity to meet her and brief her on some tribunal issues we in the U.S. government were working on.