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"This paper deals with the prosecution of a crime of crimes, genocide, at international and national levels. The international community has shown interest in penalizing perpetrators of gross human rights violations since the Nuremberg trial, and then the adoption of the 1948 UN Genocide Convention. After these times, significant numbers of international tribunals, although at an ad hoc level, have been established to punish gross violations of human rights including the crime of genocide. Along with these tribunals, quite a number of national courts have engaged in the prosecution of genocide. Nevertheless, due to legal and practical problems, the two legal systems are adopting different approaches to handle the matter, although the crime is one and the same. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to assess critically where the difference lies, the cause and impact of the disparity on the rights of the accused to fair trial. Moreover, the study will posit some recommendations that might assist to ameliorate this intermittent situation." -- Synopsis. "This work consists of five chapters. Chapter one is addressing the general introduction of the work, and it has already been discussed. Chapter two deals with the crime of genocide and its criminal responsibility as indicated under different national and international laws. The third chapter is devoted to focus on the right to fair trial and the prosecution of genocide, and specifically addresses the issues of the right to legal assistance, speedy trial, obtain and examine evidence, and sentencing. In chapter four the role of the Rome Statue in protecting the rights of the accused, its impact on on national laws, the complementarities of the International Criminal Court and national courts will be discussed. Finally, the work will come to an end by giving concluding remarks and recommendations under the fifth chapter." -- Introduction. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2003. / Prepared under the supervision of Dr. Henry Onoria at the Faculty of Law, Makerere University, Kampala / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

This study deals with two aspects of international law. The first is ‘immunity of state officials’ and the second is ‘prosecution of international crimes.’ Immunity is discussed in the context of international crimes. The study focuses on Africa because African state officials have become subjects of international criminal justice before international courts and various national courts both in Europe and Africa. It presents a new contribution to international criminal justice in Africa by examining the practice on prosecution of international crimes in eleven African states: South Africa; Kenya; Senegal; Ethiopia; Burundi; Rwanda; DRC; Congo; Niger; Burkina Faso and Uganda. The study concludes that immunity of state officials has been outlawed in these states thereby rendering state officials amenable to criminal prosecution for international crimes. The thesis argues that although immunity is founded under customary international law, it does not prevail over international law jus cogens on the prosecution of international crimes because such jus cogens trumps immunity. It is argued that, committing international crimes cannot qualify as acts performed in official capacity for the purpose of upholding immunity of state officials. In principle, customary international law outlaws functional immunity in respect of international crimes. Hence, in relation to international crimes, state officials cannot benefit from immunity from prosecution or subpoenas. Further, the study criticises the African Union’s opposition to the prosecutions before the International Criminal Court (ICC). It argues that however strong it may be, such opposition is unfounded in international law and is motivated by African solidarity to weaken the role of the ICC in Africa. It concludes that the decisions taken by the African Union not to cooperate with the ICC are geared towards breaching international obligations on cooperation with the ICC. The study calls upon African states to respect their obligations under the Rome Statute and customary international law. It recommends that African states should cooperate with the ICC in the investigations and prosecution of persons responsible for international crimes in Africa. At international level, the study reveals the conflicting jurisprudence of international courts on subpoenas against state officials. It argues that, state officials are not immune from being subpoenaed to testify or adduce evidence before international courts. It contends that issuing subpoenas to state officials ensures fairness and equality of arms in the prosecution of international crimes. It recommends that international courts should treat state officials equally regarding prosecution and subpoenas. It further recommends that African states should respect their obligations arising from the Rome Statute and that, immunity should not be used to develop a culture of impunity for international crimes committed in Africa. / Thesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

The mini-dissertation analyses the international law obligations of the government and nonstate actors regarding the protection of internally displaced children living with HIV in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The war and armed conflicts in the Eastern DRC have exacerbated the vulnerability of children, causing them to be separated from their families, to experience sexual violence and forced conscription into armed groups, to experience the violent deaths of a parent or friend, resulting in insufficient adult care. They further are subject to a lack of safe drinking water and food, insufficient access to health care services, discrimination and stigmatisation, and so on. These factors increase their risk of contracting HIV and, if they are already living with HIV, they adversely affect their welfare. The mini-dissertation illustrates that international, regional and domestic human rights instruments protecting children can be applied in situations of armed conflicts to supplement humanitarian law instruments. It demonstrates that the government of the DRC has not implemented and fulfilled its international obligations to ensure these children adequate access to health services and to humanitarian assistance for displaced persons living with HIV; security and protection within displaced persons camps; and that children are protected from abuse and human rights violations. The dissertation recommends the prosecution of perpetrators of crimes tied to the conflicts which have targeted children, as well as the ratification by the DRC of regional instruments such as the African Union Convention on the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, and the African Charter on the Rights and the Welfare of the Child, as this may enhance the legal protection of displaced children in the DRC. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

The thesis deals with the question, in which situation the International Criminal court would probably open an Investigation of such crimes by an international body is a delicate question mainly with regard to a great extend of intervention into a state sovereignty, which manifests itself also as jurisdictional sovereignty. The thesis focuses on the case of Kenyan post-election violence in years of 2007 and 2008 and the aim to suppress Libyan revolution of 2011. Besides, the work is based upon the theory of (liberal) institutionalism, which could hopefully be applied to the international-law case of investigation of the crimes committed outside an armed conflict. Within the framework of the thesis I try to reveal criteria determining whether the International Criminal court opens or not an investigation to a situation of human rights abuse. For the purpose I take into consideration world and local country status, character of the perpetrators, extend of the attacks, country's relation to the great powers, as well as readiness of the country to prosecute the perpetrators within the national jurisdiction. As conclusion I try t compare the findings from the part applying liberal institutionalism and from the case studies.

Le 8 octobre 2014, M. Uhuru Kenyatta le président kényan comparaissait devant les juges de la Cour pénale internationale. Cette comparution était un évènement inédit ; car pour la première fois un chef d’État durant son mandat comparaissait devant cette juridiction ; inculpé depuis le 8 mars 2011, tout comme le vice-président, de crimes contre l’humanité pour son rôle présumé dans les violences qui ont émaillé l’élection présidentielle de 2007. S’il est le premier à se présenter devant les juges de la CPI, il n’est pourtant pas le premier chef d’État poursuivi par cette juridiction. Les présidents soudanais, Omar El-Béchir et le « Guide » libyen avaient reçu des notifications de mandats d’arrêt depuis 2009 pour le premier, et 2011 pour le second.Avant les poursuites de la CPI, seuls des anciens dirigeants avaient comparu devant les TMI de la seconde guerre et les TPI pour le Rwanda et pour l’ex-Yougoslavie qui l’ont précédé. Cette caractéristique commune aux premières poursuites qui n’ont pas épargné non plus les premières enquêtes du Procureur de la CPI ; posait une problématique majeure : celle de l’effectivité de la poursuite des dirigeants en exercice devant les juridictions pénales internationales ; de la Cour pénale internationale en particulier. Les actes de procédures de la CPI contre les dirigeants durant leur mandat viennent répondre en partie à ces préoccupations.Cependant, l’abandon des charges contre le président kenyan par le Procureur le 5 décembre 2014 et plus tard contre son vice-président et les motivations de ces décisions ; mais aussi l’impossibilité pour cette juridiction d’obtenir l’exécution des mandats d’arrêt émis depuis le 4 mars 2009 contre le président soudanais remettent en perspective la problématique de la justiciabilité des chefs d’État en exercice devant la CPI. / On October 8, 2014, Uhuru Kenyatta, the Kenyan President, appeared before the judges of the International Criminal Court. This appearance was an unprecedented event; for the first time a head of state in Office appeared before that jurisdiction; accused since March 8, 2011, like his vice-president, of crimes against humanity for his alleged role in the violence that swept the 2007 presidential election. While being the first to appear before the judges of the ICC, he is not the first head of state prosecuted by this court. Sudanese president Omar El-Bashir and the Libyan "Guide" had received arrest warrants since 2009 for the first, and 2011 for the second.Before these ICC prosecutions, only former leaders had appeared before the IMT of the Second World War and the TPIs for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. There is a characteristic common to these first prosecutions, which did not spare either the first investigations of the Prosecutor of the ICC; posed a major problem: that of the effectiveness of the prosecution of leaders in office before international Criminal jurisdictions; and particularly of the International Criminal Court. The ICC's proceedings against leaders during their term of office partially address these concerns.However, the dismissal of charges against the Kenyan President by the Prosecutor on 5 December 2014, and later against his Vice President and the motives for those decisions, but also the impossibility for this jurisdiction to obtain the execution of arrest warrants issued since March 4, 2009 against the Sudanese president put into perspective the issue of the justiciability of the heads of state in office before the ICC.

La notion de crimes contre l’humanité s’est affirmée au lendemain de la seconde guerre mondiale. Elle a pris une dimension nouvelle au tournant de la décennie 90. Le génocide rwandais, puis les crimes commis contre les populations civiles albanaises en ex-Yougoslavie, sont passés par là ; ils ont alimenté les débats, soulevés des inquiétudes, et semblent avoir réveillé la « conscience humanitaire » de la « communauté internationale ». Ce réveil coïncide aussi – et ce n’est pas un hasard – avec la fin d’un monde bipolaire (chute du mur de Berlin, effondrement de l’URSS et dislocation des pays du bloc de l’Est). Ainsi, la résurgence du concept de crimes contre l’humanité intervient dans un monde en rupture profonde ; une rupture qui ne manque pas de produire ses effets sur le sens, la définition et la portée du concept. Autrement dit, l’idée de crimes contre l’humanité se déploie dans un monde mouvant où le Droit, plus que jamais, se heurte à la souveraineté des États et aux intérêts stratégiques et géopolitiques des « Puissants », comme en témoigne la gestation difficile de la Cour pénale internationale (CPI). Plus concrètement, les rapports de force tiennent une place importante et continuent de gérer les relations internationales, même dans un domaine qui, en principe, devrait être consensuel : les crimes contre l’humanité. Dans ce contexte, il n’est pas surprenant de voir certains pays accusés de crimes contre l’humanité (le Soudan, la Somalie, la Serbie, la Libye…), mais pas d’autres (crimes commis dans les territoires palestiniens, tortures et crimes commis par l’armée américaine en Irak…). Cette thématique, reposant sur l’idée que la force du droit se heurte au droit de la force, pourrait justifier l’idée selon laquelle le concept de crimes contre l’humanité, tel qu’il se manifeste aujourd’hui, est loin d’être un concept tout à fait neutre. De là découle la formulation de notre hypothèse : alors que les crimes contre l’humanité apparaissent comme un concept en quête d’identité, son application s’avère difficile et à « géométrie variable ». / The notion of crimes against humanity asserted itself after the Second World War. It took a new dimension in the bend of the 90's, after the Rwandan genocide, then the crimes committed against the Albanian civil populations in ex-Yugoslavia. Those events fed the debates, raised anxieties, and seem to have woken the " humanitarian consciousness " of the " international community ". This awakening also coincides - and it is not a fate - with the end of a bipolar world (fall of the Berlin Wall, collapse of the USSR and dislocation of the countries of the east block). So, the resurgence of the concept of crimes against humanity intervenes in a world in deep break; a break which produce its effects on the sense, the definition and the impact of the concept. In other words, the idea of crimes against humanity spreads in an unstable world where the right, more than ever, collides with the sovereignty of States and with the strategic and geopolitical interests of "Powerful", as shows of it the difficult gestation of the International Criminal Court (CPI). More concretely, the balance of power holds an important place and continue to rule the international relations, even in a domain which, in theory, should be consensual: the crimes against humanity. In this context, it is not surprising to see certain countries accused of crimes against humanity (Sudan, Somalia, Serbia, Libya), wheras others crimes and tortures (those committed in the Palestinian territories or by the American army in Iraq...) remain unpunished. This theme, basing on the idea that the power of right collides with the law of the strongest, could justify the idea according to which the concept of crimes against humanity is far from being a completely neutral concept. From there ensues the formulation of our hypothesis: while the crimes against humanity appear as a concept in search of identity, its application turns out difficult and seems to vary according to circumstances (variable-geometry).

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[pt] A presente dissertação explora a sombra que o Tribunal Penal Internacional faz sobre a Colômbia, por meio de sua persistente não-decisão. Usa do trabalho de Koskenniemi para analisar a abordagem positiva do Gabinete da Procuradoria à complementariedade, identificando-a como uma manifestação da cultura do formalismo. Em seguida, analisa como atores representam o envolvimento do Tribunal com principais figuras nacionais no caso colombiano, durante o longo período de tempo desde a abertura de um exame preliminar. Partindo da teoria crítica e de estudos de assombração, a autora então pergunta: Como o/a impacto/sombra da não-decisão da Procuradoria (sobre a abertura de uma investigação) é representada/sentida na Colômbia? Argumenta, a partir de uma análise estética de documentos, charges políticas e do filme Manos Súcias, por uma abordagem alternativa na política do direito internacional. Por fim, oferece uma crítica das Relações Internacionais enquanto prática. / [en] This thesis explores the shadow cast by the International Criminal Court over Colombia through the means of a persisting non-decision. It uses the work of Koskenniemi to characterize the Office of the Prosecutor s positive approach to complementarity as an attempt to employ a culture of formalism. It then analyzes how actors involved represent the Court s engagement with key figures the country during the long time it has been under preliminary examination. Taking critical theory and hauntology studies as a starting point, the author then proceeds to ask: How is the impact of the impact/shadow of the Prosecutor s nondecision (pursuant to the opening of an investigation) portrayed/felt in Colombia? How does it come to be? She argues, departing from an aesthetic analysis of documents, political cartoons and the movie Manos Sucias, for a different approach on the politics of international law. Finally, she offers a critique of International Relations as a practice.