Introduction -- The decision to prosecute core crimes : contexts and contents -- The decisions to prosecute : possible motivations -- The decisions to prosecute : who should be brought to justice? -- The crime of genocide in Ethiopian Law -- The crime of genocide in Ethiopian trials : elements of the crime -- War crimes in Ethiopia : law and practice -- Punishment and sentencing of core crimes in Ethiopia -- Conclusion.
This book investigates the road map or the transitional justice mechanisms that theEthiopian government chose to confront the gross human rights violations perpetratedunder the 17 years’ rule of the Derg, the dictatorial regime that controlled state powerfrom 1974 to 1991. Furthermore, the author extensively examines the prosecution ofpoliticide or genocide against political groups in Ethiopia. Dealing with the violent conflict, massacres, repressions and other mass atrocities ofthe past is necessary, not for its own sake, but to clear the way for a new beginning.In other words, ignoring gross human rights violations and attempting to close thechapter on an oppressive dictatorial past by choosing to let bygones be bygones, is nolonger a viable option when starting on the road to a democratic future. For unaddressedatrocities and a sense of injustice would not only continue to haunt a nation butcould also ignite similar conflicts in the future. So the question is what choices are available to the newly installed government whenconfronting the evils of the past. There are a wide array of transitional mechanismsto choose from, but there is no “one size fits all” mechanism. Of all the transitionaljustice mechanisms, namely truth commissions, lustration, amnesty, prosecution,and reparation, the Ethiopian government chose prosecution as the main means fordealing with the horrendous crimes committed by the Derg regime. One of the formidable challenges for transitioning states in dealing with the crimes offormer regimes is an inadequate legal framework by which to criminalize and punish/divegregious human rights violations. With the aim of examining whether or not Ethiopiahas confronted this challenge, the book assesses Ethiopia’s legal framework regardingboth crimes under international law and individual criminal responsibility. This book will be of great relevance to academics and practitioners in the areas ofgenocide studies, international criminal law and transitional justice. Students in thefields of international criminal law, transitional justice and human rights will alsofind relevant information on the national prosecution of politicide in particular andthe question of confronting the past in general. Marshet Tadesse Tessema is Assistant Professor of the Law School, College of Law andGovernance at Jimma University in Ethiopia, and Postdoctoral Fellow of the SouthAfrican-German Centre, University of the Western Cape in South Africa./div
This book offers the first comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the provisions of the ‘Malabo Protocol’—the amendment protocol to the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights—adopted by the African Union at its 2014 Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. The Annex to the protocol, once it has received the required number of ratifications, will create a new Section in the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights with jurisdiction over international and transnational crimes, hence an ‘African Criminal Court’. In this book, leading experts in the field of international criminal law analyze the main provisions of the Annex to the Malabo Protocol. The book provides an essential and topical source of information for scholars, practitioners and students in the field of international criminal law, and for all readers with an interest in political science and African studies. Gerhard Werle is Professor of German and Internationa l Crimina l Law, Criminal Procedure and Modern Legal History at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Director of the South African-German Centre for Transnational Criminal Justice. In addition, he is an Extraordinary Professor at the University of the Western Cape and Honorary Professor at North-West University of Political Science and Law (Xi’an, China). Moritz Vormbaum received his doctoral degree in criminal law from the University of Münster (Germany) and his postdoctoral degree from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. He is a Senior Researcher at Humboldt-Universität, as well as a coordinator and lecturer at the South African-German Centre for Transnational Criminal Justice.
This volume analyses the prospects and challenges of the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples' Rights in context. The book is for all readers interested in African institutions and contemporary global challenges of peace, security, human rights, and international law. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Since after the Second World War, the crime of aggression is – along with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes – a “core crime” under international law. However, despite a formal recognition of aggression as a matter of international criminal law and the reinforcement of the international legal regulation of the use of force by States, numerous international armed conflicts occurred but no one was ever prosecuted for aggression since 1949. This book comprehensively analyses the historical development of the criminalisation of aggression, scrutinises in a detailed manner the relevant jurisprudence of the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals as well as of the Nuremberg follow-up trials, and makes proposals for a more successful prosecution for aggression in the future. In identifying customary international law on the subject, the volume draws upon a wealth of applicable sources of national criminal law and puts forward a useful classification of States ́ legislative approaches towards the criminalisation of aggression at the national level. It also offers a detailed analysis of the current international legal regulation of the use of force and of the Rome Statute ́s substantive and procedural provisions pertaining to the exercise of the International Criminal Court ́s jurisdiction with respect to the crime of aggression, after 1 January 2017.
In National Trials of International Crimes in Bangladesh, Professor Islam examines the judgments of the trials held under a domestic legislation, which is uniquely distinct from international or hybrid trials of international crimes. The book, falling under international criminal law area, is a ground-breaking original work on the first ever such trials in the ICC era. The author shows how the national law and judgments can act as a conduit to import international law to enrich and harmonise the domestic law of Bangladesh; and whether the Bangladesh experience (a) creates any precedential effect for such trials in the future; (b) offers any lessons for the ICC complementarity; and (c) contributes to the progressive development of Asian and international criminal jurisprudence.
This report provides background on current International Criminal Court (ICC) cases and examines issues raised by the ICC's actions in Africa, including the potential deterrence of future abuses and the potential impact on African peace processes.
This 2005 book discusses the legitimacy of the international criminal law regime. It explains the development of the system of international criminal law enforcement in historical context, from antiquity through the Nuremberg and Tokyo Trials, to modern-day prosecutions of atrocities in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. The modern regime of prosecution of international crimes is evaluated with regard to international relations theory. The book then subjects that regime to critique on the basis of legitimacy and the rule of law, in particular selective enforcement, not only in relation to who is prosecuted, but also the definitions of crimes and principles of liability used when people are prosecuted. It concludes that although selective enforcement is not as powerful as a critique of international criminal law as it was previously, the creation of the International Criminal Court may also have narrowed the substantive rules of international criminal law.
The International Criminal Court emerged in the early twenty-first century as an ambitious and permanent institution with a mandate to address mass atrocity crimes such as genocide and crimes against humanity. Although designed to exercise jurisdiction only in instances where states do not pursue these crimes themselves (and are unwilling or unable to do so), the Court's interventions, particularly in African states, have raised questions about the social value of its work and its political dimensions and effects. Bringing together scholars and practitioners who specialise on the ICC, this collection offers a diverse account of its interventions: from investigations to trials and from the Court's Hague-based centre to the networks of actors who sustain its activities. Exploring connections with transitional justice and international relations, and drawing upon critical insights from the interpretive social sciences, it offers a novel perspective on the ICC's work. This title is also available as Open Access.
