‘Can International Criminal Law Advance Peace and Justice?’
DATES: 13 October 2022
LOCATION: Zoom Meeting
Please RSVP to naomi@saifac.org.za in order to receive the link to the seminar
About the Event:
DESCRIPTION:
One of the age-old questions in the field of international criminal law is how to reconcile the somewhat competing notions of ‘peace’ and ‘justice’. In recent years, the discussion has resurfaced in light of tension between the African Union (AU) and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
One of the most vehement charges levelled at the ICC in Africa is the Court’s predilection for attaining justice at the perceived expense of peace. The apparent failure of the ICC to contribute to peace efforts on the continent has been linked to its failure to heed and pay deference to the AU’s peace and security agenda.
While the AU’s mandate is to “promote peace, security, and stability on the continent,” the ICC is of the view that the broader issue of international peace and security is not the Prosecutor’s responsibility as it falls under the mandate of other institutions such as the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the AU.
It comes as no surprise then that the two institutions clash with each other where the ICC’s criminal prosecution clashes with alternative justice processes and peace negotiations between state parties and individuals accused of committing international crimes as seen in the Darfur and Ugandan conflicts. If the collaboration between the ICC and African governments is to be effective, the mandates of the two institutions must be reconciled. In other words, the international community must figure out how to bring peace AND justice to victims of horrible atrocities. The Rome Statute has a number of tools that can be employed for this purpose.
This seminar will examine the United Nations Security Council’s authority to postpone investigations and prosecutions in the interests of international peace and security (Article 16), as well as the ICC Prosecutor’s discretionary authority to halt or prevent investigations and prosecutions when doing so is in the interests of justice (Article 53).
THIS SEMINAR WILL SEEK TO INVESTIGATE THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
Does Article 16 place an obligation on the UNSC to intervene in ICC investigations or prosecutions in the interests of peace and security?
Are there any measures in place to assess the sincerity of peace efforts and protect them against abuse?
Can the prosecutorial discretion in Article 53 of the Rome Statute be construed to include the interests of peace?
Does Article 53 allow the Prosecutor to abandon an investigation or prosecution based on peace talks or other nonjudicial transitional justice processes?
Is the ICC prosecutor obligated to prosecute crimes of sufficient severity within its authority even when criminal justice may jeopardise peace processes?
Finally, can alternative justice processes fulfil the objectives of ensuring accountability and ending impunity on the African continent?
About the Speaker:
Ropafadzo Maphosa is a researcher at the South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Public, Human Rights and International Law, a centre of the University of Johannesburg and a co-founding editor of the African Law Matters Blog. She obtained her LLB and LLM in Human Rights Law (with Distinction) at the University of Johannesburg and is currently pursuing an LLD in Public International Law. Her work which focuses on human rights in Africa, constitutional law, gender equality and women’s rights has been published in several prestigious law journals.