By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
It is one of the core projects for the Peace Island School to set up ``World Peace Tribunal’’ an international court of arbitration like the Hague Tribunal in the Netherlands. Grant McCall, 64, ISISA president and a professor of New South Wales University in Australia, is now working with Cheju National University on the international court.
``It (to build the peace tribunal) will become active part of my participation with the Peace Island School,’’ McCall told The Korea Times in an interview, Friday. He plans to join the international school, planned on Jeju next September, as a dean.
During his presentation at the island studies conference, the Australian professor proposed the foundation of the international peace court to the world island scholars. McCall, who is also an anthropologist, gave several reasons for his claim that ``Jeju is a place of peace.’’ After being nominated as ``Peace Island’’ in 2005 by the Korean government, Jeju became an autonomous self-governing province in 2006. The island has no world commercial, economic or political interests.
The anthropologist advised Jeju island needed four required conditions to become a world peace center; a strong infrastructure, simultaneous translation facilities, world-class meeting venues and a will to sustain its brand as a place of peace and negotiation, with no thieves, no gates and no beggars.
McCall said the Jeju Peace Tribunal will be based on the Peace Island School. The school professors and students might bring cases and promote the tribunal all over the world.
``Judgment by the tribunal commission, consisted of legal experts, might be in the form of a suggested compact or agreement,’’ he said. The tribunal will operate through three steps; to discover facts, to discuss concerns and to propose solutions. It will neither deal with war crimes nor make determination of guilt as to perpetrator or victims.
Those bringing a case would be recorded on digital video and provided with a copy of their testimony at the end of the commission. Their case would be publicized on its website and publications.
McCall also suggested Jeju islanders to challenge for the Nobel Peace Prize during his presentation. ``Jeju has maintained series of peace initiatives for thousands of years. I propose that the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province sponsor and organize a people’s petition among the population of the Jeju Island to nominate the island,’’ he said.
``There have been no places that have been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize,’’ he said. ``But a try by Jeju would increase the awareness of the Peace Island concept amongst the Jeju population and Koreans. It also would highlight Jeju’s aspirations and message for a global audience.’’