In a 18 February letter to Simmons, Wyatt’s lawyer Jonathan Haydn-Williams of Taylor Wessing said his client was “surprised, but nevertheless glad to note your comment reported in The Lawyer that ‘The [ICC’s] door is always open’.” He then called once again for the ICC to hand over its constitutional documents.
But Simmons litigation partner Philip Vaughan is firmly resolute that the documents will not be handed over. He said Wyatt had so far failed to provide a reason, under English
law, for the disclosure of the documents.
In part, Simmons’ argument relies on the fact that neither the ICC nor its development arm, ICC Development Ltd (ICCD) which is responsible for organising the World Cup, is an English company – ICCD is registered in the British Virgin Islands and the ICC is a member organisation.
Vaughan said that he believed Wyatt was looking to cause legal problems for the ICC. He firmly stated: “I’m not going to facilitate that by delivery of documents that are private and confidential.”
Make law, not war
Could Tony Blair, George Bush et al ever end up in the International Criminal Court should they attack Iraq? Jon Robins reports on some heavyweight legal challenges to the threat of war
