Belgium's Senate todaypassed a bill that scraps a controversial war crimes law thathad soured relations with other countries. Belgium moved to change the law after lawsuits were filedagainst US President George W. Bush and British Prime MinisterTony Blair for the US-led invasion of Iraq.
The vote was seen as a formality as the lower house passedthe bill with a large majority vote last Tuesday. The upperhouse, or Senate, voted 39 in favour of the bill with fouragainst and 20 abstentions, according to a house statement.
The bill revamps a law that gave courts the power to tryforeigners for war, genocide and other human rights crimesregardless of where they were committed.
Belgium's courts had been overwhelmed by lawsuits filedagainst a number of world leaders during the past two years,straining relations with other countries.
Washington warned it would not send officials to Brusselsfor NATO meetings and hinted at suspending funding for a plannednew NATO headquarters in the city if the law was not scrapped.
Under the new law, the right to file lawsuits againstsuspected war criminals will be restricted to Belgians or peoplewho have resided in the country for at least three years.
Conditions under which complaints can be filed againstforeigners will be very narrow and respect internationalimmunity rules.
A complaint against a foreigner will no longer automaticallytrigger an investigation, and plaintiffs will not be able toappeal against a public prosecutor's decision to drop a case.