"With the entry into force of the Rome Statute in July 2002 and the election of judges and prosecutors of the Court in 2003, there is need for states parties to the Rome Statute to enact laws to incorporate the crimes defined in the treaty. Currently, 92 states are parties to the treaty. The success of the ICC will depend not only on widespread ratification of the Rome Statute, but also on states parties' compliance with obligations under the treaty. For almost every state this will require some change in national law in accordance with existing laws and proceedings in a given legal system. The experience of most states parties to the treaty is that the Rome Statute will require some form of domestic implementing legislation, even if this is not the normal practice of the state. There is need for co-operation between the Court and state parties on the administration of justice. For the Court to function properly, the immunity of its personnel should be guaranteed and provisions in national constitutions that are incompatible with the Rome Statute should be amended to bring them in conformity with the provisions of the treaty. ... Thus far, South Africa is the only African country that has adopted an implementing legislation domesticating the Rome Statute. Other African countries such as Congo, DRC, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal have draft bills. There is, therefore, the need for African countries that are state parties to the treaty to positiviely confront the above challnges while incorporating the provisions of the Rome Statute into national law. ... The first chapter is an introduciton. It sketches the background of the study and reviews the materials that will be used for the study. It focuses on several hypothesis and research questions that the study is set out to answer. It highlights the dearth of materials on the implementation of the Rome Statute in Africa. The second chapter analyses the ICC and the emerging international legal system. It discusses the complementarity principle of the Rome Statute and analysis the crimes under the jurisdiction of the Court. The effect of the bilateral immunity agreements signed by states parties to the Rome Statute with the United States of America is also highlighted. The third chapter deals with the ICC and indernational approaches to the implementation of the Rome Statute. This involves discussions on compatibility of the Rome Statute with national constitutions. Approaches adopted by states with regards to specific issues of implementation will also come into focus, followed by discussions on the amendment of constitutions and purposive interpretation as adopted by various states parties to the Rome Statute. The fourth chapter will discuss implications of the Rome Statute for domestic constitutions in Africa. The discussion will focus on immunity from prosecution granted to heads of state and government by constitutions, the surrender of persons to the ICC and sentencing of persons convicted by the Court with regards to their relationship in the implementation of the Rome Statute in Africa. The fifth chapter will be a comparative analysis of impelementation strategies adopted by South Africa, Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). There will be an analysis of the relationship between the Rome Statute and African human right system. The last chapter is the conclusion with recommendations and arguments on the need for a comprehensive domestic implementation strategy of the Rome Statute in Africa." -- Introduction. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2003. / Prepared under the supervision of Professor Lovell Fernandez at the Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

Examines the situation of child victims through a human rights perspective and identifies the existing legal framework in the international and regional environment. Furthermore, this study seeks to raise awareness about the illegality and harmful consequences of all forms of child trafficking. Also discusses the necessity to take appropriate criminal as well as administrative action, at all levels, to effectively prohibit and penalise child trafficking. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2007. / A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Professor Julia Sloth-Nielsen of the faculty of Law, of the University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

This thesis argues that the International Criminal Court (ICC) brings a new more deontological paradigm to international interventions, founded upon the universal application of legal principle, and displacing consequentialist notions of justice linked to human rights. Based upon the Court’s Statute and mode of operations, it is argued that this is associated with assumptions concerning the ICC’s primacy, military enforcement, and theory of change. The consequences of this development in volatile contexts are demonstrated. The case study, founded upon analysis from the war-affected community, examines the impact of the International Criminal Court in the Lord’s Resistance Army war, and reveals the relationship between criminal justice enforcement, and community priorities for peace and human rights. On the basis of evidence, and contrary to narratives repeated but unsubstantiated in the literature, it demonstrates that in this case these two imperatives were in opposition to one another. The Court’s pursuit of retributive legal principle was detrimental to the community’s interests in peace and human rights. The subsequent failure of the ICC’s review process to interrogate this important issue is also established. The research establishes that statutory and operational assumptions upon which Court interventions are based do not hold in volatile contexts. For the case study community and elsewhere, this has had adverse impacts, with significant implications for the ICC. The findings indicate that if these issues are not fundamentally addressed, principled international criminal justice enforcement in volatile environments will continue to have profoundly negative human rights consequences.

This study involves a critical appraisal of the legal implications of South Africa’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the context of its international and regional human rights obligations. The dissertation also investigates the history and formation of the ICC, South Africa’s involvement and its role as a guardian of international and regional human rights obligations in Africa. The study reviews the circumstances leading to South Africa’s notice of withdrawal from the ICC, including the legal implications and international human rights obligations. This inquiry considers South Africa’s proposed withdrawal from the ICC which is supported by points of departure and a comprehensive literature review. The decision to withdraw from the ICC is considered to be a political one. However, this study raises questions about the executive’s withdrawal in regard to its domestic, regional and international human rights obligations, irrespective of whether it is a member of the ICC. The study surveys the background to South Africa’s participation in the ICC, its membership of the African Union and the implications of ICC membership including the obligations imposed on member states. / Criminal and Procedural Law / LL. M.

This thesis examines the status of amnesties and the duty to prosecute gross and systematic human rights violations in international law. The thesis begins by distinguishing amnesty from other related concepts, such as impunity, pardon and statutes of limitations and so on. Unlike these related concepts, amnesty aims to address major social or political crises in society, such as to resolve an armed conflict, allow the return of political refugees or bring about peaceful political transition. Amnesty is linked to the duty to prosecute, because it is so often in direct conflict with international law norms and standards on the duty to prosecute and to compensate victims of human rights violations. Before the First World War, amnesty was a well-established customary practice. Even where a peace treaty was silent on the mater, amnesty was implied. Compensation was also part of the regime of peace treaties, but not followed as consistently as amnesty. This practice changed dramatically after the First and Second World Wars, because, in a break with the past, the victors did not consider themselves to be on the same level as the vanquished. This resulted in the abolition of the traditional practice of granting amnesty and the demand rather that those responsible for aggression be prosecuted and compelled to pay compensation, as was the case with Germany. Since 1948, with the adoption of the United Nations' Charter, and other international human rights treaties, the power of states to grant amnesty gradually became constrained by the obligation to prosecute perpetrators of gross human rights violations and to pay compensation to the victims of war crimes. Nevertheless, this phenomenon did not put an end to the practice of states granting amnesty for gross human rights violations. Internal armed conflicts during and after the end of the Cold War, with no victors and no vanquished, made amnesty an inevitable option. A considerable number of states continue to utilise amnesty as a device for peace and reconciliation, and they have granted amnesty for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. In customary international law, there is a gap between the actual state practice and the existence of the customary norm creating a duty to prosecute. As a result, the status of the so-called "palatable amnesties" (à la South Africa), often granted as part of a truth and reconciliation process, still remains unclear in international law. This is further exacerbated by the inconsistent practice of the United Nations as the main depository and sponsor of human rights instruments. South Africa and Sierra Leone are used as case studies to illustrate this inconsistency in both state and UN practice on the status of amnesties in international law. As a result, the study proposes a balanced approach model, which is an attempt to strike a balance between accountability, political transformation and social stability in transitional democracies. The balanced approach model proceeds from the premise that the international criminal justice system is not flawless and, therefore, it is important to acknowledge its limitations, such as the lack of enforcement agencies, difficulties in the collection of reliable evidence and a lack of resources to prosecute. In terms of the model, consideration is given to (i) the need to respect the legitimacy of the political process that gives rise to the granting of amnesty; (ii) the amnesty must be proportional to the crimes committed and must be rationally connected to the aims of achieving peace and national reconciliation, the interests of justice, compensation for victims; and finally (iii) the general commitment of the state that grants amnesty to respect international law obligations, which includes the implementation of international obligations as part of municipal law and treaty monitoring obligations as preconditions for the amnesty to pass muster in the balanced approach model. In conclusion, the study proposes model Policy Guidelines on Amnesties Granted for Gross and Systematic Human Rights Violations in International Law for the Assembly of States of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to take note of, and to commend to states and international courts and tribunals, leaving its content to be taken up in the normal processes of the application and development of international law. The status of the Guidelines is that of a code of conduct or guide to practice. In that sense, the Guidelines do not have the character of a binding legal instrument and will serve as the basis for the development of sound principles of international law on amnesties. / Constitutional and International Law / L.LD

in English The theme of this dissertation is the subject matter jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Offences such as aggression, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, sometimes called the "core crimes", are the most serious crimes ever indentified under international law. These crimes do not violate only some particular rights, but they threaten the whole international community, peace, security and well-being of the world. Therefore it is essential to have a precise legal definition of these grave crimes and to establish an effective judicial mechanism for prosecution of the most dangerous criminals. However, it is not easy to find general consent on these matters among the international community. There is not much space for internationalisation in the field of criminal law, which was traditionally considered an important part of national sovereignty. Thus the path towards establishment of the ICC, which is the first permanent international criminal judicial body ever, was extremely difficult, as was definition of the four core crimes falling within its jurisdiction. This thesis scrutinises the concrete provisions of the ICC Statute, the "Rome Statute", which constitute substantive law by defining the crime of genocide (art. 6), crimes against humanity (art. 7), war...

„We need to defend culture – source of resilience and resistance, of belonging and identity – as a wellspring to rebuild and restore normality in societies in crisis” – mit diesem Aufruf forderte die ehemalige UNESCO-Generaldirektorin Irina Bokova eine Reaktion der internationalen Gemeinschaft auf die Schändungen materieller und immaterieller Kulturgüter durch die Terrormiliz IS im Irak und Syrien. So besteht Palmyra – Symbol kultureller Vielfalt und interkulturellen Dialogs – zwar in seinen Grundfesten fort, die Zerstörung von Statuen, Vandalismus an prähistorischen Tempeln und Sprengungen des Triumphbogens lassen Experten jedoch schlussfolgern: „Palmyra remains, but its legacy is forever transformed“. Die Zerstörung materiellen Kulturerbes bildet längst nicht alle Schandtaten der Terrormiliz ab; gleichzeitig trachtet sie nach der Zerstörung der distinkten Kultur ganzer Volksgruppen. In ihren Angriffen auf die Jesiden blieb es nicht bei der Zerstörung heiliger Schreine. Auch immaterielle Ausdrucksformen von Kultur sind Gegenstand systematischer Angriffe. Durch Zerstörung materieller und immaterieller Kulturgüter zeichnete der IS verantwortlich für „unprecedented cultural eradication“. Irina Bokova folgerte, „we are witnessing what can be described as ‚cultural cleansing‘ on an unprecedented scale.“ Eine wichtige Rolle in der Bestrebung, die Kulturen der Welt vor solchen Gräueltaten zu schützen, kommt der strafrechtlichen Ahndung letzterer zu. Vor diesem Hintergrund hält der Terminus kultureller Genozid Einzug in die Debatten. Die vorliegende Abhandlung führt zunächst in das Konzept kulturellen Genozids ein und analysiert seinen Status nach geltendem Recht. Daraufhin erfolgt eine Analyse der neueren Völkerrechtspraxis, um festzustellen, inwiefern im Hinblick auf die rechtliche Behandlung des kulturellen Genozids Reformbedarf besteht. Sodann werden Reformmöglichkeiten vorgestellt und bewertet. Am Ende dieses Beitrages soll ein Überblick über den Mehrwert eines potenziellen Straftatbestands kulturellen Genozids und zukünftige Schritte in Reaktion auf die derzeit von Extremisten begangenen Verbrechen an Kultur stehen.

Public, Constitutional and International Law / LL. M.

This thesis examines the status of amnesties and the duty to prosecute gross and systematic human rights violations in international law. The thesis begins by distinguishing amnesty from other related concepts, such as impunity, pardon and statutes of limitations and so on. Unlike these related concepts, amnesty aims to address major social or political crises in society, such as to resolve an armed conflict, allow the return of political refugees or bring about peaceful political transition. Amnesty is linked to the duty to prosecute, because it is so often in direct conflict with international law norms and standards on the duty to prosecute and to compensate victims of human rights violations. Before the First World War, amnesty was a well-established customary practice. Even where a peace treaty was silent on the mater, amnesty was implied. Compensation was also part of the regime of peace treaties, but not followed as consistently as amnesty. This practice changed dramatically after the First and Second World Wars, because, in a break with the past, the victors did not consider themselves to be on the same level as the vanquished. This resulted in the abolition of the traditional practice of granting amnesty and the demand rather that those responsible for aggression be prosecuted and compelled to pay compensation, as was the case with Germany. Since 1948, with the adoption of the United Nations' Charter, and other international human rights treaties, the power of states to grant amnesty gradually became constrained by the obligation to prosecute perpetrators of gross human rights violations and to pay compensation to the victims of war crimes. Nevertheless, this phenomenon did not put an end to the practice of states granting amnesty for gross human rights violations. Internal armed conflicts during and after the end of the Cold War, with no victors and no vanquished, made amnesty an inevitable option. A considerable number of states continue to utilise amnesty as a device for peace and reconciliation, and they have granted amnesty for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. In customary international law, there is a gap between the actual state practice and the existence of the customary norm creating a duty to prosecute. As a result, the status of the so-called "palatable amnesties" (à la South Africa), often granted as part of a truth and reconciliation process, still remains unclear in international law. This is further exacerbated by the inconsistent practice of the United Nations as the main depository and sponsor of human rights instruments. South Africa and Sierra Leone are used as case studies to illustrate this inconsistency in both state and UN practice on the status of amnesties in international law. As a result, the study proposes a balanced approach model, which is an attempt to strike a balance between accountability, political transformation and social stability in transitional democracies. The balanced approach model proceeds from the premise that the international criminal justice system is not flawless and, therefore, it is important to acknowledge its limitations, such as the lack of enforcement agencies, difficulties in the collection of reliable evidence and a lack of resources to prosecute. In terms of the model, consideration is given to (i) the need to respect the legitimacy of the political process that gives rise to the granting of amnesty; (ii) the amnesty must be proportional to the crimes committed and must be rationally connected to the aims of achieving peace and national reconciliation, the interests of justice, compensation for victims; and finally (iii) the general commitment of the state that grants amnesty to respect international law obligations, which includes the implementation of international obligations as part of municipal law and treaty monitoring obligations as preconditions for the amnesty to pass muster in the balanced approach model. In conclusion, the study proposes model Policy Guidelines on Amnesties Granted for Gross and Systematic Human Rights Violations in International Law for the Assembly of States of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to take note of, and to commend to states and international courts and tribunals, leaving its content to be taken up in the normal processes of the application and development of international law. The status of the Guidelines is that of a code of conduct or guide to practice. In that sense, the Guidelines do not have the character of a binding legal instrument and will serve as the basis for the development of sound principles of international law on amnesties. / Constitutional and International Law / L.LD

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-06-22Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:54:40Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 volz_mb_me_fran.pdf: 1042789 bytes, checksum: 27834998d1188adf6946bf0bc52272bc (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O objetivo desta pesquisa reside na análise dos motivos que explicam a criação do Tribunal Penal Internacional ter ocorrido apenas na década de 1990, precisamente em 1998, sendo que desde o início do século XX já existiam propostas para instauração de uma organização internacional semelhante a essa. Para tanto, são analisados, inicialmente, as origens do processo de internacionalização dos direitos humanos e os antecedentes, tanto institucionais quanto sob a perspectiva dos princípios jurídicos, do Tribunal Penal Internacional. Considerando que as Nações Unidas só voltaram a deliberar sobre este projeto após o término da Guerra Fria, são investigados, também, de que maneira o encerramento desse peculiar conflito, bem como as suas repercussões no âmbito das relações internacionais, influenciaram na retomada e no desenvolvimento das negociações sobre a proposta do Tribunal. Esclarecidos esses motivos, procede-se a uma análise sobre as três fases que compuseram o processo político para a elaboração do Estatuto do Tribunal e culminaram na instauração dessa corte internacional: a inicial, no âmbito da Comissão de Direito Internacional; a intermediária, coordenada pelo Comitê Preparatório, e a final, ocorrida na Conferência de Roma. Encerra-se esta pesquisa discutindo-se os aspectos mais atuais acerca do Tribunal Penal Internacional e os limites da sua criação / This research intends to explain the reasons why the International Criminal Court establishment took place just in the nineties, precisely in 1998, but since the begin of the twentieth century there were already proposals for the creation of a international organization like this. In order to accomplish this objective, are analyzed, initially, the origins of the human rights internalization process, and the background, both institutional and from the perspective of legal principals, to the International Criminal Court. Considering that the United Nations just come back to deliberate about this project after the end of the Cold War, are investigated, furthermore, how the end of this particular conflict, including its consequences in the international relations, influenced the resume and the development of the negotiations about the Court proposal. Clarified these reasons, the research is developed with the analysis of the three phases that made up the political process for the elaboration of the Court Statute, and that culminated in the establishment of the International Criminal Court: the first within the International Law Commission, the intermediate, coordinated by the Preparatory Committee, and the final, held at the Rome Conference. This research is concluded by discussing the most current aspects regarding the International Criminal Court and the limits of its creation