Shaping the Contours of Domestic Justice: The International Criminal Court and an Admissibility Challenge in the Uganda Situation

Abstract

This chapter considers the law and practice of admissibility challenges before the International Criminal Court (ICC), in case of self-referrals. It offers three distinct visions of the concept of admissibility with implications for the Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC)s analysis of any challenge in the Uganda cases. The chapter discusses the negotiations between the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government as of April 2008 and analyzes the range of potential domestic justice mechanisms that might be available to Uganda, taking into consideration both the requirements of Article 17 of the Rome Statute and the agreements between the government and the LRA. It evaluates the prospects for admissibility challenges either by the Ugandan government or by particular indictee in light of the three visions of admissibility, and suggests that the PTC has a critical role both in resolving the conflict in Uganda and setting the contours of acceptable domestic justice efforts. Keywords: domestic justice; International Criminal Court (ICC); Lords Resistance Army (LRA); Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC); Rome Statute; Ugandan government