Africa and the International Criminal Court: Collision Course or Cooperation?

Abstract

The relationship between Africa and the International Criminal Court (ICC) was cordial for many years. However, since the decisions of the United Nations Security Council to invoke its special powers to impose the Court on Sudan and Libya, African States acting through their regional body - the African Union - have adopted numerous resolutions claiming that the ICC maybe impeding, rather than assisting, their efforts to restore peace in several ongoing conflicts and transitional situations on the continent. In this invited lecture, given as the first RJR Distinguished Visiting Professor Lecture at North Carolina Central University School of Law in fall 2010, I build on earlier published research to assess the current state of the Africa-ICC relationship. I evaluate whether there are serious prospects of resetting the tense relationship between the two sides or whether they appear to be on a collision course that might eventually lead some African states parties to withdraw from ICC-administered justice.

Keywords: Charles Jalloh, Africa, International Criminal Court, Sudan referral, Libya referral, role of the Security Council in the ICC

JEL Classification: K14, K33, K39, K42