The Rationales and Challenges for the Criminal Section of African Court of Justice for Human and Peoples Right
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2015-10
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa University
Abstract
From a period of antiquity, human kind has suffered with atrocities and massive human right violations. The
Continent of African is one of the places that experiences individually orchestrated massive human rights violations.
Before the establishment of the ICC, ad hoc and national tribunals have prosecuted individual-based gross human
rights violations. Permanent regional criminal Court is a new phenomenon of international law. Since its
establishment, the OAU (later AU) has organized institutional and legal frameworks that promote protections of
human rights. After the UNSC failure to respond to the request of the AU to defer different ICC investigations in
Africa, the AU Assembly decided to pursue the establishment of an African Regional Criminal Court. An
indictment of African officials at the ICC and European National Courts are the immediate causes for speeding up
the establishment of a Criminal Section at the African Court of Justice for Human and Peoples' Rights. On June 27,
2014, the AU Assembly adopted a Protocol that will empower an African Court with criminal jurisdiction.
Noticeably, the quick adoption of the Protocol is a political reaction rather than genuine legal effort of prosecuting
perpetrators of massive human right violations. Regionalizing international criminal tribunal is a reasonable and
esteemed innovation of international law. However, the current AU effort towards establishing an effective African
Criminal Court that works amid of jus conges has various limitations. Thus this paper, with the theme of empowering
the African Court with criminal Jurisdiction, will indicate the justifications for regionalizing criminal Courts.
Meanwhile, the paper will demonstrate the legal, political and practical constraints towards the ongoing effort of
empowering ACJHPR with criminal jurisdiction and effective functionality of the Criminal Section thereof.
Description
Keywords
Justice for human and peoples right,African court,criminal justice