Department of Criminal Justice and Procedure

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https://hdl.handle.net/10566/1645
The Department of Criminal Justice And Procedure offers a select menu of highly sought-after elective courses in criminal law, child justice, conveyancing, legal process, and comparative criminal justice. The Department also conducts and publishes internationally recognised research in these subject areas.

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Browsing by Subject "African Union"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Evaluating South Africa's Proposed Withdrawal from the ICC: A Way Forward?
    (University of the Western Cape, 2018) Watkins, Laura-Jane; Werle, Gerhard
    Since 2009, the first permanent international criminal court's operation is known to be marked by diplomatic tension between the African Union (AU) and the ICC. A host of African member states have called for African states parties to withdraw en masse from the International Criminal Court (ICC). On the 19th October 2016, South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, without prior parliamentary approval, deposited an official notice of withdrawal from the ICC in terms of Article 127(1) of the Rome Statute. The Pretoria High Court, however, in Democratic Alliance v Minister of International Relations ruled the notice instrument to be "unconstitutional and invalid." This research paper evaluates South Africa's unsuccessful proposed withdrawal, against the backdrop of AU and ICC tensions. Accordingly, the paper critically evaluates South Africa's reasons for a proposed ICC withdrawal, its subsequent failure and the domestic and international implications of either a future successful withdrawal or South Africa's continued membership. The paper's findings conclude that South Africa's attempted withdrawal was primarily based on the diplomatic breakdown between South Africa and the ICC which arose out of the states party's non-cooperation with an arrest warrant for Sudan's sitting head of state, President Omar Al-Bashir, at the 25th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly in Johannesburg, June 2015. It is presented, that South Africa's proposed withdrawal was premature and that any future withdrawal from the ICC will have far-reaching legal and political ramifications. Further, this study reaffirms the need for the country's continued contribution to building a stronger, effective and more universal framework of international criminal justice, domestically and from within the ICC.
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    Evaluating the legal framework of the hybrid court for South Sudan
    (University of the Western Cape, 2019) Romano, Taban; Werle, Gerhard
    The Republic of South Sudan became independent from the Republic of Sudan on 9 July 2011. South Sudan has an area of 644, 329 km2 and a total estimated population of around 12, 6 million.1The original state of Sudan was intensely divided along ethnic, religious and ideological lines. The general population of the Republic of Sudan is mainly Sunni Muslim whereas the South Sudanese are mostly Christian, with small populations that still practice African indigenous religions.2While the Republic of Sudan is predominantly Arabic-speaking, English and over sixty local languages are spoken in South Sudan.3 The new Republic of South Sudan was born after one of the longest and most ruthless wars fought in Africa. The war between the government of Sudan and the Southerners had its roots in 1955 as resistance to “Sudanisation” began in the run-up to Sudanese independence. Provincial administration4favouring the better-educated northerners over southerners and further conflict fuelled by "Islamisation" strategies and the inability to actualise a government framework that would ensure self-governance for the South led to a protracted civil war between the north and south.5 The Addis Ababa Agreement that ended the first civil war in 1972 did not resolve political pressures and when Sharia law was introduced in 1983, it reignited the north-south conflict.6 The Second Sudanese Civil War ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in January 2005. The CPA ended a period of constant war between 1955 and 2005 barring an eleven-year truce that isolates two savage stages.7
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    Towards an African International Criminal Court? – assessing the extension of the jurisdiction of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights to cover international crimes
    (University of the Western Cape., 2011) Kinyunyu, Selemani; Werle, Gerhard
    Africa seemingly cursed with instability, conflict and gross human rights violations has been the largest scene of operation of international criminal justice. This understanding led African States to be some of the key proponents in the push for an International Criminal Court. Of late however, mounting policy and operational fluxes between African States and international criminal justice has put Africa's relationship with international justice on ice. This in turn has awoken within the region's geopolitical body, the African Union, the need for an exclusively African response to international criminal justice as it is currently considering extending the jurisdiction of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights to cover international crimes. This Research Paper aims to chart the genesis of this move through the decision-making system of the African Union and within the broader context of the Union's emerging Human Rights, Peace and Security Architecture. It will simultaneously assess the viability of this proposal within the backdrop of recent global developments with a view to identifying key legal and policy ramifications. It aims to show that there may be room for the adoption of an empowered African Court as a regional complement to the international criminal justice system.