No abstract

No abstract

Abstract:The protection of witnesses from intimidation or harm has become a firmly entrenched part of modern criminal justice systems. The ICC's decisionmaking with regard to procedural and non-procedural protective measures has on one hand reinforced the integrity and success of the judicial process, while on the other, led to numerous interpretational and applicability challenges of both policy and law. This article aims at designating policy-oriented jurisprudence as a possible theoretical approach and solution to the ICC's international law making of witness protection measures. Policy-oriented jurisprudence approaches international law as a decision-making process, where decisions are made pursuant to shared community interests and expectations. This will likely aid advisers, scholars, or those entrusted with decision-making to pay particular attention to all factors necessary for the security of witnesses.

Purpose In September, 2013 following a police tip, a government accounts clerk was found with huge sums of cash amounting to US$300,000 in his car, and a week later, Malawi’s Budget Director (Treasury Official) was fatally shot outside his home. These two incidents unravelled what would later be famously known as the “Cashgate Scandal” that leading to revelations of fraud amounting to US$32 million, an amount representing almost 1 per cent of Malawi’s annual GDP in merely six months. As a result, donors withdrew their annual 40 per cent budgetary support. A lot of people (almost 70) in both public and private sector found with both cash in local or foreign currency were arrested. An independent audit report by Baker Tilly, a British accountancy firm, revealed that the fraud and theft was with such sophistication that cheques were issued to private companies for services that had not been rendered to government. Those cheques were cashed, and money was distributed among several people. Those arrested were charged with offences ranging from corruption, abuse of office, theft, theft by public servant, tax evasion and money laundering. This paper aims to analyse the cashgate scandal. It explores the first conviction of these cashgate case series which also happens to be the first ever conviction on money laundering offence in Malawi. It further explores the law likely to apply to the cashgate scandal case series, the opportunities that have been lost and likely stifling implications on the future of the fight against corruption and money laundering offences in Malawi. All law enforcement actors such as the prosecution, defence and the courts have that duty to clarify and implement the common interests of Malawians, namely, the prescriptive purposes of the law in accordance with the expectations of an approximate process that guarantees attainment of human good, i.e. justice. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents the desk research of various journal articles and reports on money laundering in general and Malawi. Further, an analysis of the first money laundering conviction is presented. Findings Malawi is still struggling with enforcement of money laundering offences. Research limitations/implications There was no quantitative research involved. Further, being the first case for litigation and conviction, not much has come up on Malawi’s money laundering practice. Actually, this is likely to be the first article on money laundering and analysis of the cashgate heist. Social implications The paper serves as a learning process for future prosecutions. Originality/value The paper offers a new and novel approach to the fight against money laundering offences and organized criminality in Malawi. Before the Treza Senzani Judgment, Money Laundering Law in Malawi had never been tested before the Courts. Through an exegesis of the Malawi law as regards these offences, the paper adds value to the research and fight against money laundering. It further offers insights into legal interpretation and policy formulation that would enable law enforcement agencies in Malawi to succeed in the fight against such criminality.

Since Hissène Habré’s Judgment by the Extraordinary African Chambers (EAC), the world has anxiously awaited the processes that the African Union (AU) would put in place for the amelioration of the victims’ circumstances. Pursuant to the AU’s pledge and unfaltering support for the EAC, in early 2018 the AU Heads of State and Government Assembly adopted a Statute establishing the Hissène Habré Victims Trust Fund. It is anticipated that the Fund is likely to be an unsteady vehicle facing numerous challenges regarding law and policy formulation, interpretation and implementation, such as flawed decision-making processes, and a lack of proper policy direction and State cooperation, which have the potential of heavily impeding this international criminal justice enterprise. However, there exists an opportunistic trajectory for the Fund as the current trends, practices and rich jurisprudence of other criminal tribunals and courts can inform the Fund’s processes and positions. The Fund’s decision-makers should make a concerted effort in a sturdy and convergent direction that mirrors the victims’ potential values, consonant outcomes and responsibilities.