KHARTOUM, Feb. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Sudanese President Omr el-Bashir reiterated his country's refusal to extradite any suspect in connection with Darfur war crimes to the International Criminal Court (ICC), the independent Al-Sahafa daily reported on Sunday.

    "The Sudanese judiciary solely has the jurisdiction of ruling in cases in Sudan, especially those in Darfur," el-Bashir said at a celebration marking the golden jubilee of the Sudanese Judiciary on Saturday.

    The president said his country had full confidence in the judiciary as well as in its judges for realizing justice and the rule of law.

    Sudan's Judiciary is capable of providing the public with fair trials and any defendant with the right of defense, safeguarding human rights and simplifying the legal procedures for all people,he said.

    The Hague-based ICC was mandated by the U.N. Security Council last year to look into the war crimes in Sudan's western region of Darfur, where thousands of people have been killed and over one million displaced since conflicts erupted in February 2003.

    The ICC has a list of 51 war-crime suspects, including Sudanese government officials, pro-government militants and rebels. The list was compiled by a U.N. panel which reported the Darfur conflict last year.

    Among the 51 names listed are "militants and civilians about whom there is much convincing evidence," said Antonio Cassese, an Italian law professor heading the U.N. commission of inquiry on Darfur crimes.

    The Sudanese government, however, refuses to extradite any ofits citizens to the ICC, insisting that it can prosecute any war criminal in its own courts. Enditem