Criminal Justice Norms, politics, institutions, processes and constraints

The document explores the tension between formal 'due process' and substantive justice, arguing that criminal law is often a tool for political and economic power rather than a neutral instrument. It contrasts consensus-functionalist and radical-conflict paradigms of law and evaluates the impact of colonial legacies on the current state of criminal justice in Africa, where corruption and repression remain prevalent.

• Two sociological perspectives explain criminal law: the consensus-functionalist paradigm views law as an embodiment of shared societal values to ensure peace, whereas the radical-conflict paradigm argues that law is structured to protect the interests of dominant groups and disproportionately target the poor and powerless.
• International norms, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, the UN Declaration of Human Rights, and the ICCPR, establish the 'presumption of innocence' and prohibit arbitrary arrest, retroactive laws, and torture to protect human dignity.
• Punishment philosophies are split between retributionists, who believe punishment should be proportional to the harm caused (past-oriented), and utilitarians, who justify punishment based on future goals such as deterrence, reformation, and rehabilitation.
• Criminal justice systems in Africa are heavily influenced by colonial legacies, where institutions were originally designed as partisan agencies for colonial rulers. Post-colonial rulers often maintained these repressive structures to reinforce authoritarian governance.
• Empirical data from 18 African countries in 2005 indicates widespread legal inequality and high levels of corruption among police and judicial officials, leading to a 'legitimation crisis' for these institutions.
• Pervasive failures in African criminal justice include the use of torture to obtain confessions, extra-judicial killings, and extreme trial delays; for example, awaiting trial inmates make up two-thirds of the prison population in Nigeria.

APA

Alemika, E. E. O. (n.d.). Criminal Justice Norms, politics, institutions, processes and constraints. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/M161C2.PDF

Chicago

Alemika, Etannibi E O. Criminal Justice Norms, politics, institutions, processes and constraints. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/M161C2.PDF.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Alemika |first1=Etannibi E O |title=Criminal Justice Norms, politics, institutions, processes and constraints |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/M161C2.PDF |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{alemikandcriminal, author = {Alemika, Etannibi E O}, title = {{Criminal Justice Norms, politics, institutions, processes and constraints}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/M161C2.PDF}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }