Recent Developments in International Criminal Law with Regional Perspectives

Abstract

Paper prepared by ILI-ACLE Legal Intern, Kimberly M. Brown for distribution to East African law faculty participants in two-day training seminar in Nairobi, Kenya on International Criminal Law (ICL) by International Law Institute – African Centre for Legal Excellence (ILI-ACLE) & Open Society Initiative for East Africa (OSIEA).International Criminal Court (ICC) - Since its establishment in 2002 via the Rome Statute, the ICC has played an important role in shaping and influencing the parameters of international criminal law. The Rome Statute created an independent international criminal court of limited jurisdiction that aimed to investigate and prosecute individuals who commit war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The ICC currently has twenty-two active cases pending against individuals in five African states. In total, the ICC is investigating seven situations, all within the African continent and all having been referred to the ICC in one of the three ways pursuant to the Statute. Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic all signatories to the Rome Statute, individually referred situations from their countries to the Prosecutor. The United Nations (U.N.) Security Council referred the situations in Darfur, Sudan and Libya to the ICC Prosecutor. Following questionable actions of leaders in Cote d’Ivoire, on May 20, 2011 the presidency of the ICC assigned the situation to Pre-Trial Chamber II to determine whether the court has jurisdiction over alleged crimes. Most recently, on May 30, 2011, the Pre-Trial Chamber II confirmed the admissibility of two cases in the Kenyan situation after the prosecutor requested authorization from the ICC.