JUSTICE BEYOND THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: TOWARDS A REGIONAL FRAMEWORK IN AFRICA

The document analyzes the tension between the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the African Union (AU), attributing the friction to perceived bias, the influence of the UN Security Council, and a clash between retributive and restorative justice. It explores the proposed African Court of Justice and Human Rights (ACJHR) and the Malabo Protocol as regional alternatives, while noting significant hurdles in funding and ratification. The author argues that while the ICC is limited by global power politics, Africa's path to accountability depends on the political will to ratify regional judicial frameworks and utilize hybrid courts.

• The relationship between the ICC and African states deteriorated due to a perceived bias, evidenced by the high number of arrest warrants for African officials compared to a lack of warrants for crimes committed outside the continent.
• The UN Security Council's (UNSC) power to refer non-signatories to the ICC and its ability to defer investigations are major sources of tension, as the Permanent Five (P5) members can veto decisions to protect their own interests or allies.
• The perceived 'Africa bias' is argued to be a result of the ICC's structural limitations; the court is restricted by the UNSC, making Africa the only region where it can effectively operate without facing the diplomatic shielding of the P5.
• African leaders often prioritize peace and stability over immediate retributive justice, arguing that the ICC's approach can hamper peace negotiations by refusing to grant temporal immunity to leaders involved in conflict resolution.
• The Malabo Protocol aims to expand the African Court of Justice and Human Rights (ACJHR) to include a third chamber for international crimes, covering the four core international crimes plus 10 others prevalent in Africa, such as corruption and terrorism.
• The establishment of the ACJHR faces critical obstacles, including slow ratification (the Malabo Protocol had no ratifications at the time of writing) and severe underfunding within the AU budget.
• Hybrid courts, such as the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the Extraordinary African Chambers in Senegal, demonstrate that international justice can be advanced in Africa when there is political will and adequate resources.

APA

CLIFFORD, C. (2019). JUSTICE BEYOND THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: TOWARDS A REGIONAL FRAMEWORK IN AFRICA. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Occasional-Paper-293.pdf

Chicago

CLIFFORD, CAYLEY. JUSTICE BEYOND THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: TOWARDS A REGIONAL FRAMEWORK IN AFRICA. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2019. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Occasional-Paper-293.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=CLIFFORD |first1=CAYLEY |title=JUSTICE BEYOND THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: TOWARDS A REGIONAL FRAMEWORK IN AFRICA |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=January 2019 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Occasional-Paper-293.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clifford2019justice, author = {CLIFFORD, CAYLEY}, title = {{JUSTICE BEYOND THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: TOWARDS A REGIONAL FRAMEWORK IN AFRICA}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2019}, month = jan, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Occasional-Paper-293.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }