The Merged African Court of Justice and Human Rights (ACJ&HR) as a Better Criminal Justice System than the ICC: Are We Finding African Solution to African Problems or Creating African Problems without Solutions?

Abstract

Africa is witnessing the emergence of a new institutional creature unprecedented in international law. The Merged African Court of Justice and Human Rights (ACJH international crimes. The article seeks to answer three interrelated research questions: First, what effect will the extension of the jurisdiction of the Merged Court have on international criminal justice in Africa?, second, will the Merged Court with jurisdiction on international crimes offer an alternative to the already discredited International Criminal Court (ICC) in Africa? And lastly is the African Union capable of financing a court with a three pronged mandate that includes international crimes.This article makes a general contribution to the debate on whether Africa can offer African solutions to African problems. It specifically focuses on the international crimes mandate that has been introduced under the African Court of Justice and Human Rights. The first part of this article focuses on the origins of the idea on the African system having an international crimes court. The second part focuses on the international crimes chamber of the African court, its jurisdiction, composition and structure. The third part of this article focuses on the Draft Merged court and its amendments and whether the protocol will be adopted ad ratified. The article makes recommendations on how the African Court of Justice and Human Rights can be improved to enhance the advancements of human rights in Africa. The article then concludes that Africa might not be ready for this extension of jurisdiction of the Merged court to try international crimes as this stance will take away the gains already made in the African Human rights scene.