Browsing by Subject "Rome Statute"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Open Access
    Civil society engagement in the fight against impunity for international crimes: a comparative analysis between the United Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of South Africa
    (2026) Bakilana, Joanna Rahmatoulay; Lutchman, Salona
    Post-Second World War, state-centric frameworks sought to establish global human rights norms. Despite this, significant accountability gaps remain, especially in regions where state capacity and will are limited. This minor dissertation explores the relationship between law and civil society in addressing impunity for international crimes, focusing on Tanzania and South Africa. The research examines how international, regional, and domestic legal frameworks in both countries enable or disable civil society organisations (CSOs) in their efforts to bridge those gaps and strengthen accountability mechanisms. Tanzania's limited domestication of international legal frameworks creates a disabling rather than enabling environment for CSOs. In contrast, South Africa's more integrated legal environment theoretically supports CSOs through various measures. The dissertation critically analyses how these contexts influence CSO operations, highlighting the challenges posed by state interferences that manifest in punitive compliance measures. It underscores the pivotal role of CSOs in utilising the law to ensure that states adhere to their legal obligations particularly through grassroots advocacy, public awareness campaigns, and strategic legal action. Furthermore, this desktop study analyses secondary sources such as legal documents, academic literature, and reports from both domestic and international CSOs. Key areas of focus include the influence of international and regional human rights treaties, the integration of these instruments into national frameworks, and how the level of domestication of said instruments affects the effectiveness of CSOs in combating impunity within their respective legal contexts. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how an enabling legal environment can allow CSOs to provide critical oversight of government actions or inactions concerning accountability for human rights violations. This work not only advances discussions on civil society's role in addressing issues within international criminal justice but also offers practical recommendations for enhancing their impact in Tanzania, South Africa, and similar contexts.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Open Access
    Going national: universal jurisdiction and the principle of complementarity in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
    (2010) Rolffs, Lina; Nakhjavani, Salim A
    In a historical moment, after a couple of decades of development from Nuremberg to the ad hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) set to work in The Hague in 2002, to fight impunity for the most atrocious crimes against international law, having an impact on the international community as a whole.1 This has been welcomed with high expectations from the civil society.2 However, negotiations on an international multilateral level require compromise, and compared to the ideal of a Court with unlimited resources and jurisdiction, the final form of the ICC does not seem to be able to live up to the expectations. The budget of this international institution is very limited, and could and should only cover the costs of proceedings for the very masterminds of crimes,3 which are in turn all too often only possible because of the participation of so many individual criminals.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    The principle of complimentarity through the Roma Satute: a critical analysis of its content, implementation and application. Case study of the DRC
    (2021) Kahimba, Kambale Dérick; Woolaver, Hannah
    The analysis of the principle of the complementarity formula set out in the Rome Statute is at the heart of this dissertation. The research aims to critically reflect on the complementarity regime under the Rome Statute in relation to international crimes committed in the DRC since the incorporation of the Rome Statute into the Congolese legal system. This research argues that the implementation of the principle of complementarity poses difficulties of application, implementation, and interpretation and thus remains a less effective means of putting an end to international crimes. The findings of this research indicate an urgent need for the principle of complementarity being rethought by clarifying its content and scope. Victims of international crimes cannot to date rely on its implementation to obtain justice. This research adopts an essentially conceptual approach; moreover, the methodological approach adopted is that of qualitative research. This research calls for the principle of complementarity being rethought by clarifying its content and scope.