Category Archives: South Africa

The Traumatized Perpetrator – “I actually murdered somebody. I felt very bad about that and I just wanted to run away.”

Posted on June 19, 2025 by Mark Kersten

The following contribution by Bart Nauta is part of JiC’s ongoing symposium on Alette Smeulers’ new book “Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?”. Bart is a historian and interdisciplinary researcher at ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre and a PhD … Continue reading →

Posted in Argentina, Crimes against humanity, South Africa, Symposium Introduction - A JiC Symposium on Alette Smeulers'  "Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?, Vietnam, War crimes | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Let the International Court of Justice Decide: It is Law, not History, that holds the Promise of Protecting Life in Gaza 

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Mark Kersten

The following article was written by Amanda Ghahremani and Mark Kersten and originally appeared in the Toronto Star. Amanda is an international lawyer, research fellow at the Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley, and at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Concordia … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Gaza, Genocide, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Law, Israel, Palestine, South Africa | Tagged | 2 Comments

Genocide doesn’t “just happen” – Israel, Gaza and Genocide as a Process, not an Event

Posted on January 19, 2024 by Mark Kersten

Israel has now responded to South Africa’s allegations of genocide in Gaza. In its submissions at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Israel’s lawyers relied on a combination of legal and political arguments insisting that is not committing genocide. This is not … Continue reading →

Posted in Gaza, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Israel, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC, South Africa | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

End of the Road: Prosecuting Fulgence Kayishema for Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Mark Kersten

The following is a guest-post by Owiso Owiso and Doris Uwicyeza Picard. Owiso is an international lawyer, scholar and researcher whose primary interests and areas of specialisation include general public international law, international criminal law/justice, international arbitration and dispute settlement, law of international … Continue reading →

Posted in International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Rwanda, Rwandan Genocide, South Africa | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A Graceful Exit for South Africa’s ICC Withdrawal Plans

Posted on September 10, 2018 by Mark Kersten

The following article was written by former UN High Commissioner, Navi Pillay, former Chief Prosecutor of the Rwanda and Yugoslavia tribunals, Richard Goldstone, and myself. Both Navi and Richard are members of the Africa Group for Justice and Accountability. A version of it first … Continue reading →

Posted in International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, International Law, Omar al-Bashir, South Africa | Tagged | 8 Comments

It’s Not Too Late — A Proposal for South Africa to Stay in the ICC

Posted on June 13, 2018 by Mark Kersten

A version of the following article was originally published in the Mail & Guardian and was co-authored with Richard Goldstone, former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and a member of the Africa Group for Justice … Continue reading →

Posted in International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Omar al-Bashir, South Africa | Tagged | 3 Comments

Good Politics or Bad Law? The International Criminal Court, Bashir, and South Africa

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Mark Kersten

It came as quite the surprise. To be sure, observers of South Africa’s relationship with the International Criminal Court (ICC) fully expected that the Court’s Judges would eventually find that Pretoria had failed to cooperate in arresting and surrendering Sudanese … Continue reading →

Posted in African Union (AU), Darfur, International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Omar al-Bashir, South Africa, Sudan | 1 Comment

Non-Compliance But No Referral – The ICC Muddies the Waters

Posted on July 20, 2017 by Mark Kersten

Angela Mudukuti joins us for this take on the decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding South Africa’s failure to arrest and surrender sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to the ICC. Angela Mudukuti is an international criminal justice lawyer with experience … Continue reading →

Posted in Darfur, Guest Posts, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Omar al-Bashir, South Africa, Sudan | 12 Comments

How Three Words Could Change the ICC-Africa Relationship

Posted on May 9, 2017 by Mark Kersten

Much of the fraught relationship between the International Criminal Court (ICC) and African states hinges on perceptions and misperceptions of the Court’s role on the continent. There are so many conflicting narratives of the ICC’s impact in Africa, so many … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, African Union (AU), International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, South Africa, UN Security Council | 4 Comments

Re-Setting the Clock – South African Court Rules ICC Withdrawal Unconstitutional

Posted on February 22, 2017 by Mark Kersten

For proponents of the rule of law, today’s ruling that the South African government’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) was unconstitutional is a major victory. Set aside opinions on membership in the ICC itself; the decision by the High Court in Pretoria defended something … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, African Union (AU), International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, International Law, South Africa | 5 Comments