Tag Archives: International Criminal Court

South Africa still intends to withdraw membership of ICC – Justice Minister

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South Africa’s government still plans to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, ICC, Justice Minister Michael Masutha said on Wednesday, after a court ruled that it was unconstitutional to do so.

Masutha described October’s notification to the UN of its intent to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the 1998 treaty establishing the Hague-based court, as a policy decision.

He said the government would decide how to proceed, including a possible appeal, after reading the full judgment.

The ICC, which launched in July 2002 and has 124 member states, is the first legal body with permanent international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

South Africa notified the UN of its intent to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the 1998 treaty establishing the Hague-based court, last October.

The withdrawal would take effect this October.

High Court Judge Phineas Mojapelo in his ruling ordered the government to withdraw the notice to quit the ICC, according to a ruling broadcast on television.

“We have won in our application to have SA’s withdrawal from the #ICC set aside,” the opposition Democratic Alliance party, which challenged the withdrawal, said on its Twitter feed.

It was not immediately clear whether the government would appeal the court ruling.

The ICC has had to fight off allegations of pursuing a neo-colonial agenda in Africa, where most of its investigations have been based.

South Africa, Gambia and Burundi, in 2016, signalled their intention to quit the ICC.

Gambia’s President Adama Barrow, elected in December, said earlier this month it will remain in the ICC.

South Africa said it was quitting the ICC because membership conflicted with diplomatic immunity laws.

Pretoria had in 2015 announced its intention to leave after the ICC criticised it for disregarding an order to arrest Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, accused of genocide and war crimes, when he visited South Africa.

Bashir has denied the accusations.

 

Source: Reuters/NAN

FG Hires Top International Criminal Court Prosecutor Against Indicted Supreme Court Chiefs- Report

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Some of the indicted officials of the Supreme Court fingered to have collected money through fraudulent means are in serious trouble as the Federal Government hires a top international criminal prosecutor. The Federal Government has hired a former International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor, Charles Adeogun-Philips, to lead its team of lawyers to prosecute the Supreme Court Registrar and others for alleged N2.2b fraud.
 The arraignment of the three senior officials of the apex court was stalled by Justice Abba Mohammed of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Jabi, Abuja because one of the Supreme Court officials, Muhammed Sharif, was absent.
The Federal Government on November 3 filed a nine-count charge against Chief Registrar Ahmed Saleh, Sharif and Rilwanu Lawal (who are both officials of the court’s Account Department).
The officials were charged with conspiracy and criminal breach of trust for allegedly diverting N2.2billion belonging to the apex court and receiving gratification as public officers. The three officials are also accused of receiving N74.4m gratification from Willysdave Ltd., Welcon Nig. Ltd., Dean Musa Nig. Ltd., Ababia Ventures Ltd. and MBR Computers Ltd. between 2009 and 2016.
On November 8, Justice Mohammed granted a request by prosecution lawyer Hajara Yusuf for time to produce the three defendants in court for arraignment, following which the court adjourned till November 17 for arraignment.
Saleh and Lawal were in court. Sharif was absent. Garba Tetengi (SAN), who announced appearance for Sharif, said he was ill and was on admission at the hospital. He sought an adjournment, which other defence lawyers – Abdulhakeem Mustapha – SAN – (for Saleh) and I.K Sanusi – SAN (for Lawal) did not object.
The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Mohammed Umar, who led the prosecution team, later yielded proceedings to Adeogun-Philips, who spoke for the prosecution.
Umar said the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), had in exercising his powers under Section 174(1) of the Constitution, elected to engage an international lawyer to conduct prosecution in the case.
Adeogun-Philips said he was unhappy that Tetengi could not provide any document to show that Sharif was on admission in the hospital. Justice Mohammed rescheduled the arraignment for December 15.

Gambia Pulls Out Of International Criminal Court

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Gambia has announced that it will withdraw from the International Criminal Court, the third African country to declare its departure in just two weeks.

Explaining the country’s decision, Gambian Information Minister Sheriff Bojang said on state television late Tuesday that the global judicial body was really an “an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of color, especially Africans.”

Last Tuesday, Burundi announced its own intention to leave the court and on Friday, South Africa did the same. Then came Gambia, the tiny West African country. There are worries that this could be the beginning of an African exodus from the court, a dwindling membership on a continent with a long list of conflicts and human rights abuses to adjudicate.

Experts believe Kenya, Namibia and Uganda could be among the next countries to leave the court.

For years, many African nations have claimed that the ICC, which was established in 2002, is biased against the continent’s leaders. Nine of its 10 current investigations involve African countries.

The decision of three successive countries to leave the court could mark a watershed moment for an institution whose legitimacy is derived largely from its members’ consent. No country had previously withdrawn from the ICC.

Gambia’s announcement to withdraw might have been the most acerbic of the three countries.

“There are many Western countries, at least 30, that have committed heinous war crimes against independent sovereign states and their citizens since the creation of the ICC and not a single Western war criminal has been indicted,” Bojang said.

Gambia’s own human rights record has frequently come under scrutiny, particularly the government’s decision this year to crack down on some political opponents of President Yahya Jammeh, who has ruled the country since taking over in a coup in 1994.

Read More: washingtonpost

South Africa To Quit International Criminal Court

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South Africa is pulling out of the International Criminal Court (ICC) because its obligations are inconsistent with laws giving sitting leaders diplomatic immunity, according to government officials.

Justice Minister Michael Masutha said on Friday that the government will soon submit a bill in parliament to withdraw from the court in The Hague, a move that comes as several African countries express concerns over what they call the ICC’s disproportionate targeting of the continent.

The bill will propose that South Africa repeal the Rome Statute that created the court because the statute is “in conflict and inconsistent with” the country’s diplomatic immunity law, said Masutha.

“A difficult choice had to be made,” Masutha told reporters in the capital Pretoria.

Last year, South Africa said it planned to leave the ICC after it faced criticism for not arresting Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, who is accused of genocides and war crimes, when he visited the country. Bashir has denied the accusations.

“Officials here say the ICC unfairly targets African governments and leaders,” Al Jazeera’s Haru Mutasa, reporting from Johannesburg, said.

Mutasa said that government began the process of withdrawing from the ICC last year after civil society groups dragged the government to court over its decision to let Bashir go.

A document seen by Reuters at the United Nations on Thursday showed that the move would take effect one year after notice is formally received by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The document was dated October 19, and signed by Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South Africa’s minister of international relations and cooperation.

“The Republic of South Africa has found that its obligations with respect to the peaceful resolution of conflicts at times are incompatible with the interpretation given by the International Criminal Court,” the document said.

Read More: aljazeera

Falana’s Petition Against Dasuki, Okonjo-Iweala Arrives International Criminal Court

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The International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague has confirmed that it is considering petition submitted to it by human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN over alleged crimes against humanity committed in the context of the arms procurement scandal.

The ICC revealed this in a letter dated 1 February 2016 with reference: OTP-CR-32/16 and signed by Mark P. Dillon, Head of Information & Evidence Unit of the ICC.

The letter reads in part: “The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court acknowledges receipt of your documents/letter. This communication has been duly entered in the Communications Register of the Office. We will give consideration to this communication, as appropriate, in accordance with the provisions of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.”

Mr. Falana had in a petition dated 19 January 2016 requested the ICC to “investigate allegations of crimes against humanity committed against the Nigerian people by some former and serving military as well public officials and private persons who engaged in the criminal diversion of $8 billion earmarked to procure equipment for the armed forces to fight insurgency”.

Credit: PremiumTimes