Africa's role in the progression of international criminal justice: a moral and political argument

Abstract

Given the history of the International Criminal Court in Africa, the relationship between African states and the Court is particularly significant to its legitimacy. If the power of the Court is grounded in international political support and the perception that it transcends international and national politics to deny impunity for ‘atrocity’ crimes, the Court's perceived legitimacy and normative legitimacy are so intertwined that charges of illegitimacy from significant regional stakeholders hold particular weight. More importantly, criticisms voiced by African actors point to a valid challenge to the Court's legitimate moral standing as an arbiter of global justice: the international power imbalance that seems to be becoming more entrenched and apparent in the Court's work. Tactics adopted by some African leaders of prioritising the issue of heads-of-state immunity, however, minimise the broader issue of power differentials and reduce the chance that African states will find allies in their cause to challenge the Court's operations.

Role of International Criminal Court in Reducing Human Rights Violations

“…On the fifth anniversary of its founding, Judge Philippe Kirsch, President of the ICC, issued a statement on the work completed in these early years. In his statement, he referred to the trend in African affairs without directly mentioning it, although he was right when he was optimistic about the initial steps of the Court (Fisher 2018). At that time, the investigation of crimes against humanity in Uganda was already in progress.…”

Understanding South Africa’s Changing Positions on International Criminal Justice: Why the country wanted to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) and why it may remain in the ICC for the time being?1

“…Thus, the fact that the Security Council with many non-member ICC states did the referral, rendered to many that decision illegitimate, and highlighted the position of imperialism (Condorelli & Ciampi, 2005). The alleged abuse of power in the hands of the socalled "P5 members" of the UNSC and the perceived conflict between states parties' international obligations and domestic and regional political interests did not bode well for the Court's legitimacy (Fisher, 2018) and reputation in Africa (Dutton, 2017). However, those who do not want the Court to take up such cases have used the issues concerning the ICC in Africa for political purposes.…”

Defining a relationship between transitional justice and jus post bellum: A call and an opportunity for post-conflict justice

“…Iverson is right, however, in that jus post bellum ’s primary focus on influencing the development of law and ‘whether legal norms are being applied with jus post bellum as the goal’ distinguishes it in an important way (Iverson, 2013: 426). This is also important since international law is a state-centric institution, arguably created and maintained in the interests of (more powerful) states as well as some other international actors, despite its contention that it aims to operate outside of international politics (Fisher, 2018; Neuwen and Werner, 2010).…”