"The Italian government, legislature and Italian civil society considers the creation of an international criminal court an absolute priority - the moment has come, and all the countries of the European Union agree with us," Dini told journalists.

The court must be able to intervene and to punish war crimes both in internal and international conflicts, when legal systems are failing to do the job, and act as a clear deterrent to would-be perpetrators of crimes against humanity, he said.

Explained Dini: "The credibility of an International Criminal Court will depend primarily on the prior acceptance of its jurisdiction, not on its subsequent endorsement. This makes it essential for the court's jurisdiction to be triggered automatically and to be imposed on states by virtue of accession to the statute alone."

NGOs and critics have been lobbying for a wider definition of crimes that the ICC would handle. But Dini warned there was a risk that the court might not get off the ground it were in effect made into a human rights ombudsman.

"Italy shares the view that it would be better to limit the court's jurisdiction to the most heinous crimes committed in the context of an armed conflict, whether international or not," he said.

On the relationship between the court and the Security Council and members' veto power over the tribunal and its work, Dini said a compromise was clearly needed in the coming weeks.

"It is possible to achieve a balance between the ICC and the Security Council to safeguard the latter's specific peace-keeping and international security responsibilities, and ensure that the court can perform its judicial functions in total independence and without hindrance," Dini explained.

He said a balance could be struck thus: When the Security Council is unable to handle crimes of aggression, the ICC must be able to step in.