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Yemen

Nageeb Shamiri*

1 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1.1 A Regional Conference on Democracy, Human Rights and the Role of the International Criminal Court This conference was held in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a in January 2004, organised by the Government of the Republic of Yemen and the “No Peace Without Justice” Foundation in cooperation with the European Union, Canada and the United Nations. It was attended by 820 participants from 52 States. They included a number of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Justice, as well as speakers from the parliaments of various Arab states and other states in the region: Iran, Ethiopia, Chad, Eritrea and Pakistan, in addition to other senior officials from the European Union, especially United Kingdom; the Organisation of Islamic Conference; the Yemen; and Arab, Islamic and International Non-Government Organisations.

1.2. Yemeni-Saudi Accord on the “Border Fence” The Republic of Yemen and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have reached agreement, at a Summit held in the Saudi Capital of Al-Riyadh, in February 2004, regarding the controversial and disputed “Border Fence”, built by the Saudi Arabian authorities within 150 metres inside their border, but in clear violation of the International Yemeni-Saudi Land and Maritime Borders Treaty (Jeddah) 2000, and in particular Article (4), which stipulates an area 20 kilometres wide on both sides of the border, i.e. a total area of 40 kilometres, for security patrols only. In a final statement issued on 18 February 2004, the two States agreed to “suspend the construction of the fence” and to “dismantle, shortly, the section which has already been constructed: 85 kilometers long: once “‘joint inspection towers and roads’ have been built and ‘wire-fence, in areas where this solution is the only conceivable solution to prevent smuggling of arms and drugs’ has been erected.”

* Justice of the Supreme Court and Member of the Supreme Judicial Council. 256 Country Surveys

The two sides also agreed “to activate cooperation and coordination to ‘appoint common border patrol guards to maintain security and track smuggling as well as infiltration, and fighting terrorism’ along the whole border line between the two brotherly countries.”

1.3. International Workshop on the International Criminal Court This workshop was held at the Parliament Building in Sana’a, organised by the Constitutional/Legal Standing Committee of the Yemeni Parliament and the International Red Cross/Mid-East Delegation, from 19-20 January 2004. The workshop recommended that Yemen ratify the 1998 Rome Statute which is the “birth certificate” of the ICC. The Yemeni Parliament, however, has not yet approved the said Statute. It is worth mentioning, however, that the Republic of Yemen approved the 1998 Rome Statute, on 28 December 2000 (see, in this respect, Volume 8 of the Yearbook).

1.4 Ratification of the Sana’a Declaration regarding the Formation of the Cooperation Gathering The President of the Republic, by Presidential Resolution No. 2/2004, invited the House of Representatives (Majlis Al-Nuwwab, the Yemeni Parliament) and the Advisory Council (Majlis Ash-Shoura, an advisory body to the President of the Republic) to convene a Joint Session on Tuesday 24 February 2004, under the Constitution: article (127), to ratify the Sana’a Co-operation Gathering/ Alliance/Agreement (Ittifaq Tajammo’ Sana’a Lilta’awon) comprising Yemen, Ethiopia and Sudan, and signed in Addis-Ababa on 29 December 2003, according to the Constitution, article 125/e. The Agreement was ratified by a landslide majority. Law No. 4/2004 was promulgated to give effect to that ratification. It is worthwhile mentioning, however, that the “Republic of Somalia” joined the Alliance – thus becoming the fourth Member State, during the third Summit held in the Sudani capital from 27-28 December 2004.

1.5 Ratification of Yemen/Oman Maritime Boundary Delimitation Agreement/2003 This Agreement, consisting of the Preamble and (8) articles, was signed in Muscat on 14 December 2003, after it had been approved by the Cabinets of both States, and due to enter into existence after exchange of ratification instruments has been effected: • Ratification, in the case of the Sultanate of Oman, has been effected by the Sultan’s Decree No. 10/2004. • Ratification, in the case of the Republic of Yemen, has been effected by the approval of a Joint Session of the House of Representatives and the Advisory Council, held on 24 February 2004, at the invitation of the President of the Republic, by Presidential Resolution No. 2/2004, in accordance with the Constitution, article (127), of both the House of Representatives (Majlis Al-Nuwwab, which is the Yemeni Parliament) and