The Budget and Finance Team is dismayed at the decision of the Assembly this year to set the assessments for the International Criminal Court’s budget five million euros below the total budget recommended by the Committee on Budget and Finance and approved by the Assembly.
The expert Committee’s recommendations were based on its detailed review of the Court’s proposed budget for 2009 at its eleventh session. The Committee found that the Court’s budget was "generally reasonable" and identified a number of areas requested increases should not be approved.
The decision by the Assembly to adopt the Committee’s recommendations on overall costs but to arbitrarily reduce assessments is disappointing. It risks setting a disturbing precedent that future budgetary discussions within the Assembly will focus on political considerations rather that the resource requirements for the Court to conduct its activities, even if the Committee considers that increases in funding are justified.
The Budget and Finance Team considers that there are no exceptional or extraordinary grounds that warrant arbitrarily reducing the funds required by the Court.
The Team is further concerned that the Assembly’s instructions for the Court to use the Working Capital Fund to meet the shortfall, if necessary, is poor budgetary practice. The Fund exists to ensure the Court’s cash flow, not as a mechanism to reduce states assessed contributions.
The Team urges the Committee on Budget and Finance to review the Assembly’s decision and its impact at its upcoming sessions.