Domestic Prosecution of International Crimes in Tanzania: The State of the Law

Abstract

This article examines Tanzania’s ability to domestically prosecute international crimes following its ratification of the Rome Statute. The Article also analyses the possibility of relying on the provisions of customary international law to prosecute these crimes in the absence of domestication of the Rome Statute. The article probes into the reasons for the non-domestication of the Statute, highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the current legal framework to prosecute international crimes, and proffers a set of recommendations for the identified legal flaws. It finds that although Tanzania is a State Party to the Rome Statute, it has not yet domesticated the Statute. Despite the absence of a direct legal obligation to domesticate or nationally incorporate the provisions of the Rome Statute, the articles states that it is fundamental that Tanzania indicates its ability and willingness to prosecute international crimes within its domestic legal framework. While there are two approaches to prosecuting crimes of the Statute at the national level, this article has discussed the effectiveness of Tanzania’s legal framework to prosecute those crimes through the ordinary crimes approach. It contends that while some of the core crimes can be prosecuted domestically and through customary international law, the current domestic legal framework in Tanzania is incapable of prosecuting the Statute’s core crimes effectively in the absence of domestication or adoption of serious legal amendments in the relevant domestic legislation. Keywords: Customary International Law - International Crimes - International Crimes Approach - Ordinary Crimes Approach - Penal Code - Rome Statute