Abstract: The complementarity principle serves as one of the key pillars justifying the establishment of the International Criminal Court. The principle presupposes that the primary responsibility of the court is to ensure competent national jurisdictions that can adequately prosecute international crimes. While the Court has been widely involved in the continent its complementary effects have been marginal. Most countries continue to have domestics systems that would fall short of the threshold set out by the Rome statute. The article assesses the challenges faced by the principle of complementarity and the effectiveness of the court on the continent. The study argues that the principle of complementarity has not lead to adequate strengthening of domestic legislations and justice systems on the continent. Self-referrals by several African states presuppose that the principle has had a marginal effect in deterring and preventing the commission of international crimes. The article also points out the dangers of politicizing the ICC process. This has the potential to disrupt the process of ending the culture of impunity. The article concludes by restating the need to apply the complementarity principle in good faith as intended by the founding fathers of the Rome statute.
Keywords: ICC, complementarity, International Criminal law, Africa.
Title: Positive Complementarity in Africa, a Dream or Reality? An Analytical Study of the Consequences of the ICC Process in Kenya
Author: Atuza David Tuhoye, Felix Opilli, Noelle Mutta, Weldon Ng’eno
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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