Prosecuting International Crimes in Africa - PULP - University of ...

Introduction 3
The commission of international crimes in Africa has led to the
establishment of international criminal tribunals to prosecute and punish
persons responsible for such crimes. The 1994 genocide in Rwanda led to
the establishment of the ICTR. Mugwanya’s chapter is on the ICTR’s
contribution to the development of international criminal law. Mugwanya
relates his first-hand experience of the ICTR. Specifically, his chapter
highlights the jurisprudence of the tribunal on a range of issues, including
the definition of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and
their constitutive mental and physical elements. His chapter addresses a
few substantive, procedural and evidentiary areas of international criminal
justice, with particular focus on instances where the ICTR has pioneered
the development of international law, breaking new ground and moving
the law forward. Further, the chapter addresses instances where the ICTR
has offered important clarification or elaboration of existing jurisprudence,
or applied it to novel or challenging factual circumstances.
Closely related but distinct from the ICTR is the SCSL which was
established in 2002 to prosecute and punish persons bearing the greatest
responsibility for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in
Sierra Leone during the decade-long internal armed conflict.
Undoubtedly, the SCSL has contributed to the development of
international law principles. In chapter 4, Murungu highlights key areas in
which the legacy of the Court is observed. He argues that the SCSL is in its
final phase after having prosecuted nine cases. In addition to creating
jurisprudence on war crimes and crimes against humanity, other
significant contributions advanced by the SCSL include the clarification of
international law concepts, particularly, ‘persons bearing the greatest
responsibility for international crimes’, the status of the SCSL in
international law, ‘forced marriage at the time of armed conflict’, the
official position of individuals charged with international crimes –
including state officials, the relationship between the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission and the SCSL in prosecuting international
crimes and the illegality of amnesty for individuals charged with
international crimes. The chapter concludes that the SCSL has made a
meaningful contribution to certain areas of international law, and that its
jurisprudence will serve a meaningful purpose to international courts
dealing with international crimes.
Following the discussion on the substantive contribution by the SCSL
as presented by Murungu above, it is important to note that the SCSL has
made immense contributions to international law through its sentencing
practice. Dinokopila’s chapter looks at the sentencing practices of the
SCSL and examines the manner in which it has approached the issue of
sentencing. It does so by revisiting the debate as to the purpose of
sentencing at the international level and examines how various theories of
punishment are applied by international criminal tribunals. Most
importantly, Dinokopila assesses whether the jurisprudence of the SCSL