Roundtable: Images of Issues: The International Criminal Court and Africa

Session Submission Type: Roundtable Session

Abstract

The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established through a treaty adopted in Rome on July 17, 1998 and entered into force on July 1, 2002 when its Statute was ratified. The ICC is also known as the Rome Statute because it was the Statute that officially established the Court. According to Articles 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the court has jurisdiction over the most serious crimes of profound concern to the international community namely genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crimes of aggression. Among other things, the international community intended to use the organ of the court to bring to justice those accused of the most outrageous crimes against human rights and humanitarian law in proceedings that guarantee all recognized safeguards for fair trial; to complement prosecutions in national courts; and acting when states were unwilling or unable to effectively discharge the principle of domestic jurisdiction. Be that as it may with the good intentions and aspirations of the Court, serious and complex issues exist with the court. This roundtable, therefore, strives to examine the images of issues as relate to the International Criminal Court and Africa.

Sub Unit

• Area XIII: Roundtable Sessions

Individual Presentations

• Jurisdictional Issues of the International Criminal Court - Obi Ebbe, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

• Complementarity Principle Issue of the International Criminal Court - Evaristus Obinyan, Albany State University

Discussants

• Charles Ochie, Albany State University, Georgia

• Patrick Ibe, Albany State University

• Oko Elechi, Mississippi Valley State University

• Justina Okpere-Mohammad, University of Jos, Nigeria