India and the United States signed a pact under which they agreed not to send each other's nationals to a world tribunal, in a victory for Washington's efforts to scuttle the International Criminal Court.

At least 14 other countries have already signed such agreements with the United States, but India is significant as most of the others are small or closely identified as US allies.

The US-India agreement states there will be "non-extradition of nationals of either country to any international tribunal without the other country's express consent."

It was signed by Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal, the top bureaucrat in the foreign ministry, and the US ambassador to India, Robert Blackwill.

"India and the United States share the strongest possible commitment to bringing to justice those who commit war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide," Blackwill told reporters after the signing.

"However, we are concerned about the International Criminal Court (ICC) treaty with respect to the adequacy of checks and balances, the impact of the treaty on national sovereignty and the potential for conflict with the UN Charter," he said.

US President George W. Bush's administration strongly opposes the ICC, saying the tribunal could bring politically motivated charges against Americans, including civilian military contractors and former officials.

The Rome statute setting up the ICC was signed by former US president Bill Clinton, but he urged his successor not to ratify participation in the court until Washington resolved its concerns.

India has neither signed nor ratified the ICC.

Nonetheless, a total of 139 countries have signed the Rome statute and 87 have ratified it, according to non-governmental organizations.

The ICC enjoys support of many US allies, particularly in Europe and it officially opened in The Hague in July. Eighteen judges are expected to be elected to the world's first permanent international court in February.

The court theoretically has universal jurisdiction, but can only prosecute if the state where the crimes were committed or the state of the nationality of the accused are party to the statute.

Faced with the creation of the ICC, the United States has instead been trying to reach bilateral agreements under which countries will pledge not to extradite any US national to an international court.

Others that have signed non-extradition agreements with Washington are Afghanistan, the Dominican Republic, East Timor, El Salvador, Gambia, Honduras, Israel, the Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Micronesia, Palau, Romania, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

John Bolton, the US under secretary of state for arms control and international security, said November 14 that Washington was focusing its efforts on non-extradition with countries in South Asia and the Middle East.

But US officials have been quiet about which specific countries were being targeted for immunity deals to avoid pressure being placed on the governments in question.

An Indian official said New Delhi was disappointed with the ICC because it did not see the court playing a role in the fight against international terrorism.

India was an early supporter of the United Nations and other international institutions, but over time has become angered by periodic attempts by Pakistan to bring the Kashmir dispute to global fora.

The Indian side of divided Kashmir is in the throes of a bloody 13-year Islamic separatist insurgency which New Delhi accuses Pakistan of supporting.

"This accord is emblematic of the continuing cooperation between India and the United States," India's foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters.

India immediately joined the US-led "coalition against terrorism" last year and in May the countries held their first joint military exercises in nearly four decades.

© 2002 AFP

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