Challenges for International Criminal Justice in Africa and the Role of Civil Society

by | Sep 23, 2019 | ACTA, ACTA 2016

Challenges for International Criminal Justice in Africa and the Role of Civil Society

Authors Elise Keppler

ISSN: 1996-2088
Affiliations: Associate Director, International Justice Programme, Human Rights Watch
Source: Acta Juridica, 2016, p. 66 – 94

Abstract

Since 2009, international criminal justice has faced unprecedented challenges in Africa. With the first arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for grave crimes committed in Darfur, a vocal minority of African leaders worked intensively to undermine the Court and weaken its legitimacy. With the election in 2013 of then ICC suspect Uhuru Kenyatta as President of Kenya, and then ICC suspect William Ruto as Vice-President of Kenya, attacks on the ICC from some African leaders, mobilised by Kenyan officials, leapt to new heights. In response to the backlash against the ICC, a number of African civil society organisations and international organisations with a presence in Africa have worked together to combat attacks on the court and to promote support for justice for grave crimes. These efforts by civil society organisations represent a crucial form of engagement on international criminal justice outside the court room. This paper offers a practitioner’s perspective on group activism to combat the backlash against the ICC in Africa, with reflections on its contributions and areas for further collaboration. While the effects of these efforts are difficult to assess quantitatively, there are indications that they have helped to offer a counterweight to the backlash by setting out a marker on important issues of principle, such as the irrelevance of official position in holding perpetrators of grave crimes to account; stigmatising Al-Bashir as a suspected war criminal; promoting a more nuanced picture of Africa’s relationship with the ICC; and bolstering efforts by African governments and officials who remain more quietly supportive of the ICC.

Civil Society and Amicus Curiae Interventions in the International Criminal Court

by | Sep 23, 2019 | ACTA, ACTA 2016

Civil Society and Amicus Curiae Interventions in the International Criminal Court

Authors Sarah Williams, Emma Palmer

ISSN: 1996-2088
Affiliations: Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, UNSW Australia, Associate, Australian Human Rights Centre; Faculty of Law, UNSWAustralia
Source: Acta Juridica, 2016, p. 40 – 65

Abstract

The role of civil society in drafting and the adoption of the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court (ICC) is well known, as is the contribution of civil society to advocating for States to ratify the Statute and implement its provisions. However, despite the importance of these efforts, such opportunities do not constitute direct participation in the formal proceedings of the ICC. Other than the role of civil society actors as a witness, be it as an expert or a factual witness, the primary option for direct participation of civil society in ICC proceedings is to participate as an amicus curiae. This article addresses the practice in relation to the amicus curiae in proceedings before the ICC, particularly the reliance by civil society actors on this mechanism. It sets out the legal framework for the amicus curiae in the ICC, and examines the process and criteria applied by ICC Chambers when considering applications to appear as an amicus curiae, as well as the range of topics on which amici have sought to make submissions. The article then analyses the types of civil society actors that have sought to appear as an amicus curiae, highlighting the mixed experiences of African civil society with this mechanism. It concludes that the ICC has so far been cautious in its approach to the amicus curiae. Yet, in certain circumstances, acting as an amicus curiae can provide civil society actors with an avenue for presenting perspectives concerning novel areas falling within their expertise.

Prosecutorial Discretion and Victims’ Rights at the International Criminal Court: Demarcating the Battle Lines

by | Sep 23, 2019 | ACTA, ACTA 2016

Prosecutorial Discretion and Victims’ Rights at the International Criminal Court: Demarcating the Battle Lines

Authors Carla Ferstman

ISSN: 1996-2088
Affiliations: Director of REDRESS
Source: Acta Juridica, 2016, p. 17 – 39

Abstract

Many victims were killed, and in fact one of us had to carry the head of her dead husband from Nakuru so that she could bury it. Her husband was killed during PEV. Do you know how traumatising that is? Another lady’s husband was killed in their house. These women are suffering and their only hope was the ICC. You are now informing us that the case has been terminated, do you want us to kill ourselves also? (Halafu unatuáfembia case imeisha, unataka hata sisi tujiue?) . . . Will the Court at least allow us to give our opinions in regards to this termination? There is so much we have to tell the Court and we feel they should listen to our grievances.[fn1] footnote 1: Situation in the Republic of Kenya, ICC-01/09, Victims’ request for review of Prosecution’s decision to cease active investigation, 3 August 2015, Annex 1: Victims’ Views and Concerns, which is described as an illustrative set of views and concerns expressed by 93 Victims communicated in person to the Legal Representative for Victims during meetings with 702 Victims held in Kenya during the period 25 May to 17 June 2015.