The Habré Trial and the Malabo Protocol

International Criminal ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Criminal Court ◽

African Union ◽

Arrest Warrant ◽

Progressive Development

This chapter situates the Extraordinary African Chambers (EAC) among wider Senegalese and African justice initiatives, examining the EAC as a re-appropriation of international criminal justice by African actors. It is obvious that the trial of Hissène Habré took place in the context of conflictual relations between Africa and the International Criminal Court (ICC). Since the arrest warrant issued for Omar Al Bashir, relations between the ICC and the states forming the African Union (AU) went steadily downhill, to such an extent that the AU came to envisage creating a criminal section within the institution. What people appear to be increasingly witnessing is the determination to regionalize African criminal justice, as may be concluded from the recent adoption of the Malabo Protocol and the call to withdraw from the ICC. The chapter then looks at the dynamics of an emerging regional criminal justice system across Africa. It is important to note that the innovative aspect of the Habré trial that has had the most positive impact was its demonstration of an African determination first to fight against impunity, and second to participate in the progressive development of international criminal justice.

The African Union, the Security Council, and the International Criminal Court

10.1093/oso/9780198810568.003.0009 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Charles Chernor Jalloh

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Security Council ◽

Rome Statute ◽

International Criminal ◽

Criminal Court ◽

African Union ◽

Post Cold War ◽

History Of

This chapter analyses the controversies surrounding the work of the African Union, the Security Council, and the International Criminal Court. It examines whether the legal justifications offered for the Security Council’s involvement in matters of international criminal justice, as administered by the ICC, match the emerging practice. The chapter reviews the drafting history of the Rome Statute to identify the initial benchmark against which to assess the Chapter VII referral and deferral resolutions and their impacts, if any, on the world’s only permanent international penal tribunal. The chapter situates the ICC within a new post-Cold War global paradigm that is not only concerned with ensuring the collective peace, which is the classical responsibility of the UN, but also ensures that international criminal justice is meted out to at least some of the leaders who foment the world’s worst atrocities.

“Rounding Up the Usual Suspects”: Exclusion, Selectivity, and Impunity in the Enforcement of International Criminal Justice and the African Union’s Emerging Resistance

African Journal of Legal Studies ◽

10.1163/170873811x567970 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 51-84 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Ifeonu Eberechi

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

International Criminal ◽

Criminal Court ◽

International Justice ◽

African Union ◽

The West ◽

Regime Complex

AbstractDespite the overwhelming ratification of the statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) by African states, recent attempts to prosecute the perpetrators of egregious crimes in the region have come under a sustained opposition from its regional body, the African Union (AU). In fact, the blunt accusation is that international criminal justice has become an instrument of colonization. Within the context of the AU’s claim, this article engages the question of selective enforcement of international criminal accountability, ironically beginning with the Nuremberg trial. Without necessarily justifying the senseless perpetration of heinous crimes in Africa, this article argues that an international justice regime complex that is perceived to be skewed in favour of the West engenders a crisis of legitimacy and ultimately robs it of the much needed cooperation from the region.

Analysing the Future of International Criminal Justice in Africa: A Focus on the ICC

Strathmore Law Review ◽

10.52907/slr.v1i1.86 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 99-122

Author(s):

Emily Ngolo

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Law Enforcement ◽

International Criminal ◽

Criminal Court ◽

African Union ◽

The Future ◽

Enforcement Mechanisms

The International Criminal Court has generally a bad reputation in the African continent as a whole with hostile assertions by the African Union, that the court is nothing but a political tool for the powerful. The Court, plagued with numerous difficulties, has come under pressure to perform, with some doubting its viability. Created by the Rome Statute, and the parties therein governed by general treaty law, enforcement mechanisms of the court have been unsatisfactory at best and this has led to questions being asked as to its survival. There exists a pool of divergent views, in regard to the African Union and the International Criminal Court, in many of the crucial areas of international criminal justice. This paper seeks to find out just how true is the claim that the ICC is ‘dead’ is, and the implications of this in the future of the continent as regards international criminal justice. How important is it for us to preserve international criminal justice? Just how much of a role do states play in this revered area of law? Is its legal viability coming to an unfortunate premature end? What does this mean, then, for the victims of mass atrocities? This paper seeks to show an interplay of the role of states and politics in international criminal justice, and determine then, whether there exists any bright future for this area of law in Africa.

Contemporary Challenges in Relation to the Prosecution of Senior State Officials before the International Criminal Court

International Criminal Law Review ◽

10.1163/15718123-01501001 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 76-100 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Patricia Hobbs

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

International Criminal ◽

Criminal Court ◽

African Union ◽

The Status ◽

Additional Support

The International Criminal Court (icc) proceedings against Mr Ruto and Mr Kenyatta have been hindered by a series of arguments and counterarguments aiming either to avoid prosecution altogether or, at best, to cause significant delays. Moreover, the African Union (au) has repeatedly provided additional support to Kenya’s standpoint, furthering the interests of the region over international criminal justice. Following Kenya’s legitimate efforts to retain the jurisdiction over the crimes that took place in 2007–2008, the status of the defendants became an obstacle to effective prosecutions, giving rise to further areas of dispute, namely immunity, trial attendance and a general uncooperative attitude towards Prosecution requests, leaving the icc virtually unable to proceed. This article highlights the current problems encountered by the icc in relation to the Kenya situation, and argues that a stronger collaboration with the African Union (au) is vital for the icc effectiveness in that region.

Who Blinks First?: The International Criminal Court, the African Union and the Problematic of International Criminal Justice

Law, Politics and Rights ◽

10.1163/9789004249004_005 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 92-118

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

International Criminal ◽

Criminal Court ◽

African Union

Trial and (Potential) Error: Conflicting Visions on Reparations Within the ICC System

International Criminal Justice Review ◽

10.1177/1057567718807542 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 221-248 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Alina Balta ◽

Manon Bax ◽

Rianne Letschert

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Rome Statute ◽

International Criminal ◽

Criminal Court ◽

Court Decisions ◽

Criminal Trials ◽

Conflict Situations ◽

International Criminal Trials

Twenty years ago, the International Criminal Court (hereinafter ICC or the Court) was established holding the aim of placing victims at the heart of international criminal justice proceedings and delivering justice to them through, among others, reparations. Article 75 of the Rome Statute lays out the reparations regime, and, in practice, court-ordered reparations are a means of delivering such justice. Focusing on Court decisions on reparations, our analysis takes stock of all developments before the ICC and attempts to highlight the mismatch between characteristics inherent to the objectives of international criminal trials such as providing accountability and punishment of the accused and delivering justice for victims of mass crimes—the so-called procedural challenges. We also submit that the Court is facing conceptual challenges, related to an apparent misunderstanding of the various concepts at stake: reparations as such and the various modalities and channels of enforcing them. We conclude that although the ICC’s reparation regime may not be the best reparative response to provide justice to victims in conflict situations affected by mass victimization, we suggest that improving the ICC’s approach includes, at a minimum, tackling these challenges.

Africa Against Global Justice? Stakes for Building a Political Sociology on the Future of International Criminal Justice

The President on Trial ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198858621.003.0029 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 217-230

Author(s):

Sara Dezalay

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Global Justice ◽

International Criminal ◽

Weak Field ◽

Criminal Court ◽

African Continent ◽

New Haven ◽

Over Time

This chapter challenges current debates in global justice and the fight against impunity. Shifting the lens from the symbolism of global justice towards the structural conditions that have shaped international criminal justice as a field over time can help reposition the Habré success story not simply as an anomaly in a context of wider backlash against the International Criminal Court (ICC), but rather as a reflection of the structure of global justice as a weak field. The chapter then discusses the need to study systematically the evolution of legal markets on the African continent. In this, the project to institute a criminal chamber within the African Court of Justice and Human Rights has perhaps been too promptly dismissed as overly ambitious due to the lack of resources and state support within the African Union (AU). Interestingly, this project includes not only the crimes under the purview of the ICC, but also various other trans-border crimes such as trafficking, corruption, and the illicit exploitation of resources. The prominence taken in recent years by Africa as a new ‘mining frontier’—and with it, as a new haven for US and UK multinational corporate firms—underscores the timeliness of opening research paths on these ongoing transformations across the continent.

Rome’s Legacy: Negotiating the Reparations Mandate of the International Criminal Court

International Criminal Law Review ◽

10.1163/15718123-01702002 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 351-377 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Christoph Sperfeldt

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Rome Statute ◽

International Criminal ◽

Legal Framework ◽

Criminal Court ◽

Fresh Perspective ◽

Rules Of Procedure ◽

Victim Reparations

This article examines the negotiations that led to the incorporation of reparations provisions into the legal framework of the International Criminal Court (icc). Building upon a review of the travaux préparatoires and interviews, it traces the actors and main debates during the lead-up to the Rome Conference and the drafting of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, explaining how and why reparations were included into the Rome Statute. In doing so, the article shows how the reparations mandate was produced at the intersection of a set of different agendas and actors. From this account, it identifies a number of key themes that were at the centre of the negotiations and often galvanised contestations among delegations or with ngos. The article concludes with a fresh perspective on the origin of victim reparations in the Rome Statute and its relevance for understanding many of today’s debates around reparations in international criminal justice.

Strengthening States’ and the International Community’s Responsibility to Protect Civilians: Revisiting the Prosecution of War Crimes Committed in Africa by the International Criminal Court (ICC)

African Journal of Legal Studies ◽

10.1163/17087384-12340029 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 92-115

Author(s):

Seun Bamidele

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

International Criminal ◽

War Crimes ◽

Criminal Court ◽

Responsibility To Protect ◽

War Criminals ◽

Intrastate War ◽

New Thinking

AbstractThe silhouette of International Criminal Justice (ICJ) is fast changing across the globe. The change and transformation are connected to the criminalization of war, which has complicated the attraction of and engagement in the war for war-mongers. At least, the last few years had seen remarkable prosecution of war criminals in Africa. This is related to a relatively new thinking that informed the establishment of International Criminal Court (ICC) and global re-enforcement of war crime-related charges. Since the genocide in Rwanda, the establishment of the ICC has led to the prosecution of warlords. Also, the ICC has issued thirteen public warrants of arrest on war charges to actors and perpetrators in more than four African states. The case of President of Sudan, whose warrant of arrest had been issued regarding the crisis in Darfur, demonstrated that African leaders and war-mongers would be held responsible for their actions and atrocities they have committed. The lesson from the ICC is clear, war-mongers would be made to pay for their criminality. This article intends to examine the actions of the ICC on intra-state civil war crimes in Africa and assess whether ICC can act as deterrence on for intrastate war mongers in Africa.

Extent of Applicability of Human Rights Standards to Proceedings before the International Criminal Court: On Possible Reductive Factors

International Criminal Law Review ◽

10.1163/15718123-01204001 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 721-741 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Christophe Deprez

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Criminal Justice ◽

Present Article ◽

International Criminal ◽

Criminal Court ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

Specific Nature ◽

Human Rights Standards

Today, it is not seriously challenged that human rights law applies to proceedings before the International Criminal Court. The exact boundaries of this statement, however, might be less clear. The present article argues that the extent of applicability of human rights law cannot be precisely described unless the specific nature of the Court and of international criminal justice in general is taken into consideration. More concretely, it will be demonstrated that the exact scope of applicability of human rights standards to the ICC setting can only be addressed by referring to inherent characteristics (both of the Court and of the international criminal system as a whole) that could possibly bear a reductive impact on that scope. It will be argued throughout the analysis that several of these specific features are indeed capable of reducing the level of protection, while on a closer look others do not display such influence.