Legitimising the Juba peace Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation: the International Criminal Court as a third-party actor?

Line Engbo Gissel

doi:10.1080/17531055.2017.1303249

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article analyses the Juba peace negotiations on accountability and reconciliation. It advances a new interpretation of the Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation, focusing on five justice features: national proceedings, restorative accountability, alternative sentencing, individual responsibility and forward-looking victimhood. The article argues that the nature of the agreed justice policy derives from negotiators and mediators’ pursuit of international legitimation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its compliance constituency. This argument has implications for our understanding of the role of the ICC in internationally judicialised peace processes: the need for peace agreement legitimation combined with the legitimacy requirements in such peace processes structurally constitutes the ICC as metaphorically present in the negotiation room and thus akin to a third-party actor.

Highlights

General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights
This argument has implications for our understanding of the role of the ICC in internationally judicialised peace processes: The need for peace agreement legitimation combined with the legitimacy requirements in such peace processes structurally constitutes the ICC as metaphorically present in the negotiation room and akin to a third-party actor
At the heart of the crisis was the accountability and reconciliation policy negotiated in Juba: understood by international justice proponents as a challenge to the ICC’s legitimacy, the policy raised fears that it would damage the credibility of the Court and expose the latter to ‘blackmail’ by rebels

Summary

Introduction

General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.

Results

Conclusion