The Place of the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights in the Prosecution of Serious Crimes in Africa
in THE AFRICAN COURT OF JUSTICE AND HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS IN CONTEXT: DEVELOPMENTS AND CHALLENGES 57, 108 (Charles Jalloh, Kamari Clarke, & Vincent Nmehielle eds., Cambridge University Press, 2019).
Florida International University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 20-11
53 Pages Posted: 16 Jul 2020
Date Written: July 13, 2020
Abstract
In June 2014, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union adopted the first treaty that would establish an unprecedented regional court with a combined jurisdiction over criminal, human rights, and general matters. The protocol, though signed by 15 African States but not yet in force, introduced various innovations by, for instance, advancing expanded definitions of core international crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes; providing for corporate criminal liability; and prohibiting the dumping of hazardous waste into the environment. The AU’s new treaty was concluded in the shadow of tensions between the International Criminal Court (ICC) and some African states and raises theoretical, legal, and policy issues with serious implications for regional and international law. This chapter draws on the lessons of regionalism in international human rights law to explore the likely impact of the new tribunal on the present and future of international criminal law enforcement globally, especially given the recent purported withdrawals of Burundi, The Gambia, and South Africa from the Rome Statute establishing the ICC. It argues that, if taken seriously, regionalization of international criminal law enforcement may play a useful role in the development of accountability tools to address atrocity crimes. This could serve as a useful complement of the secondary ICC system by adding an additional layer to the national and international investigations and prosecutions of atrocity crimes.
Keywords: African Union, International Criminal Court (ICC), Burundi, The Gambia, South Africa, Rome Statute; regionalizing international criminal law; regionalization of international criminal law enforcement; regionalism in international law; regionalism
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