The International Court of Justice at The Hague, the World Court, has ruled Belgium cannot try current or former world leaders for war crimes, because they enjoy diplomatic immunity. Under a 1993 Belgian law, judges there may hear war-crimes and genocide cases regardless of where the crimes were committed.

The World Court's ruling Thursday says Belgium must cancel an international arrest warrant for Abdoulaye Yerodia Ndombasi, a former foreign minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo charged with crimes against humanity.

The Court says Mr. Yerodia can only be tried in his own country, and such a proceeding alone can remove his immunity. Mr. Yerodia is accused of urging the slaughter of thousands of minority ethnic Tutsis in 1998. Belgium issued an arrest warrant for him in April 2000.

The ruling is likely to have a bearing on a number of cases currently before Belgian courts, notably a complaint against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon dating back to the massacre of hundreds of Palestinians in Lebanon in 1982, when Mr. Sharon was Israel's defense minister.

Mr. Sharon has been accused by some of failing to act to prevent the massacre, which was carried out by right-wing Christian Lebanese militias. Belgium has not commented on the court's ruling.

Criminal proceedings have also been filed in Belgium against Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Cuban President Fidel Castro, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, Ivory Coast's President Laurent Gbagbo and former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.

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