Realising the Potential of the International Criminal Court: The African Experience

To date efforts of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to eradicate impunity for international crimes have been focussed in the African region. With arrest warrants now issued in relation to the situations in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda and the surrender of one individual to the Court, this article provides a timely examination of the efforts of African States to adopt legislation to provide for cooperation with the ICC and the prosecution of ICC crimes in national courts. The article demonstrates that despite their willingness to make use of the ICC system for prosecutions, African States, reflecting the general trend in other regions, have made very little progress in implementing the Rome Statute. The article also examines how the ICC has conducted its investigations in light of the lack of such implementing legislation.