A critical analysis of South Africa’s approach to the complementarity principle under the Rome statute of the ICC

Abstract

The Rome Statute established the International Criminal Court (the ICC) in July 2002 and South Africa was one of the first signatories. South Africa incorporated this statute into its domestic law by enacting the Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Act 27 of 2002 (the Implementation Act). The preamble and article 1 of the Rome Statute, provides that the jurisdiction of the ICC is ‘complementary’ to national courts and that, therefore, States Parties retain the primary responsibility for the repression of international crimes.