ISS Paper 241:
Lessons for complementarity from national and regional actions
Max du Plessis, Antoinette Louw &
Ottilia Maunganidze
The
position taken by the African Union towards the ICC creates the
impression that African states are resistant to international criminal
justice. This paper argues that the reality is quite different. The
continent provides many examples of international justice in practice. A
review of selected domestic and regional efforts suggests that a richer
understanding of the Rome Statute’s ‘complementarity’ scheme is
developing – one involving states, regional organisations and civil
society working to close the impunity gap. Such actions are giving
effect to the notion that while the ICC can provide justice through a
few highly publicised trials, for justice to be brought home in any
meaningful way, domestic action is essential.
The publication of this paper was made possible with the support of the Governments of the Netherlands and Norway.
Download the full paper: http://www.issafrica.org/uploads/Paper241.pdf
