At Liberal Democrat party conference in Bournemouth on Monday 15 September 2008, Jeremy spoke in the debate on this motion on extending the powers of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Among the previous speakers, Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, who prosecuted Slobodan Milosevic at the International Criminal Tribunal on Yugoslavia in the Hague, had spoken against the motion.

Do you feel like walking out of this hall and doing a bit of shoplifting in one of the Bournemouth shops? Or maybe perhaps hotwiring a few cars, or even raping or murdering someone?

No, of course you don’t, because you’re not that kind of people.

But you know if that you do - or someone else does - then they’ll be breaking the law and could end up in prison.

The Rule of Law is fundamental to a decent and civilised society - we couldn’t live our normal lives without it. And you can’t opt out of it - what do you think your chances would be if you said to a policeman arresting you for committing one of those crimes - “You can’t arrest me - I was just exercising my independent sovereignty”? It wouldn’t get you very far, I don’t think.

But that rule of law which here at home in the UK is so fundamental to a civilised society, at an international level is still in its infancy. It is for Liberal Democrats, however, no less important a principle.

The International Criminal Court has been at the cutting edge of the development of the international rule of law. At every stage, it has had to fight for acceptance. At every stage, it has had people like Geoffrey Nice saying it is simply not realistic, merely idealistic. But yet the ICC is now established and functioning - though not yet recognised by some of the world’s largest countries - such as Russia, China and the USA - and it is not yet able to function fully as, an international criminal court.

Geoffrey Nice says that in international courts lawyers exercise unaccountable power. Yes, courts are not accountable - but far from that undermining democracy, we believe that courts not being subject to political control is an important pillar of a democratic society.

This motion proposes the next steps forward for the ICC to ensure that criminal activity is subject to the law - and it is crucial for people around the world, in places where rape and murder are carried out by government that are not subject the law, that we support it.

One of the most positive developments in international affairs since the end of the Cold War, has been the development of the idea that states should, like you and me, be subject to the law, and that they can’t - as you and can’t - simply opt out of the law and avoid normal criminal sanctions, simply by declaring that they are exercising their sovereign rights. The international community has a right - and more importantly a duty - to intervene to prevent and punish criminal activity.

And one of the saddest things has been how much George and Tony’s Excellent Adventure in Iraq has mad it more difficult for the international community to do that in future.

But fortunately the international rule of law is now overcoming that and the ICC is starting to play its part.

Its path is not smooth and it faces some difficult challenges - such as for example how to work with other initiatives seeking to bring peace to areas of the world, as in Sudan.

We need to do everything we can to support it.

It needs the power not just to resolve difficult legal niceties in the Hague, but actually to enforce the law on the ground. Please help give it that power, and support this motion.