Category Archives: South Africa

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

The Human Rights Agenda and the Struggle Against Impunity

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Barrie Sander

I recently reviewed an excellent new collection of essays Anti-Impunity and the Human Rights Agenda, edited by Karen Engle, Zinaida Miller and D.M. Davis (Cambridge, 2016). The book should be of interest to anyone working in the field of human rights … Continue reading →

Posted in "Peace versus Justice" Debate, Academic Articles / Books, Amnesty, Brazil, Colombia, Economics of Conflict, FARC, Human Rights, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Justice, Latin America, Nuremberg, Peace Processes, Rwanda, Rwandan Genocide, South Africa, South America, Traditional Justice Mechanisms, Transitional Justice, Truth and Reconciliation Commissions | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

In Withdrawal? Africa and the International Criminal Court

Posted on December 21, 2016 by Mark Kersten

With speculation regarding the future of the relationship between African states and the International Criminal Court (ICC) ongoing, I was recently asked by the International Institute for Strategic Studies to pen a longer piece explaining the sources of tensions in the Africa-ICC … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Burundi, Gambia, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, South Africa | Leave a comment

Politics, Justice, and the Politics of Justice — Partisanship and the International Criminal Court

Posted on December 12, 2016 by Mark Kersten

At this point, it is almost a cliché to call international criminal justice “political”. For years, calling war crimes tribunals political was the gravest of insults critics could levy against the field. Slowly, however, it has become more acceptable — … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Gambia, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, South Africa | 1 Comment

The Clock is Ticking – Keeping South Africa in the ICC is a Tall, but Not Impossible, Order

Posted on November 25, 2016 by Mark Kersten

The clock is ticking. In just about eleven months, South Africa will officially withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC). Here at the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), though, the overall feeling is optimistic. Many participants, especially those representing civil … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Assembly of States Parties, International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, South Africa | 3 Comments