Criminal prosecutions of the International Criminal Court a study on court standards for criminal justice in Africa

A major element of justice is that it must apply to all, regardless of power, status, or position. The International criminal court (ICC) was founded as a global court to ensure that every individual is held responsible for international crimes that they commit. However, the support enjoyed by this court is fast waning out owing to principles such as anti-impunity, complementarity and referral powers granted to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The ICC which was once greatly supported by African nations is now regarded as a racist organization by most African countries of its position in ensuring that justice is served to all. For this reason, the thesis explicitly discusses the position of the ICC regarding fairness and equity, therefore, analysing the reason for the change of friendship between the ICC and African countries. To do this, the thesis adopted a qualitative research methodology, using interviews. Interviews were made with 7 research participants who were professors and diplomats in Nigeria and Uganda. Nigeria and Uganda were selected since Nigeria is seen as a supporter of the court, whereas Uganda is an opposition of the ICC. Based on the interviews conducted, it was seen that the Nigerian research participants appraised the position and duties of the ICC, whereas the Ugandan participants expressed their concerns over issues such as the anti-impunity norm, and the UNSC referral rights which they felt should be scrapped or amended. The theoretical framework of the study is based on the norm localization model of Amitav Acharya, explaining how weaker states may want to repel or revolt against norms that they felt are not satisfactory or against their wishes. The repellent, in this case, is shown by African nations who believe that African leaders should enjoy immunity- a wish which goes against the general belief of anti-impunity.