Background of the Rome Statute
Question:
Discuss About The Rome Statute International Crimes Namibia?
According to Article 21(1) (b) of the Rome Statute, the principles and rules of international law shall be applied by the International Criminal Court[1]. In this regard, the International Criminal Court has actively participated in global altercation for the purpose of ending dispensation through the interaction of international criminal justice. However, these goals cannot be fulfilled by the ICC alone and it requires the participation of a separate international treaty. With the emergence of Rome Statute that has been identified as an international treaty has effectively governed the activities of the ICC by making it the world’s first international criminal court of justice.
In this regard, it is worth mentioning that in recent times, Namibia has rightly expressed its views of withdrawing from the International Criminal Court. It is noteworthy to mention here that, the ICC was promptly joined by Namibia after the independence as a result of the instability of the internal institutions present at that time. According to the perspective of Nandi-Ndaiwah, the Minister of Namibia, Namibia is no longer bound to participate in the activities of the ICC because in recent era the country has established occupational governance institutions of its own[2].
The Rome Statute often referred to as the International Criminal Court Statute which was established by the International Criminal Court. However, the Rome statute was adopted in the Rome Conference on July 1998, however it came into force from July, 2002. In this regard, four major cores international crimes were established by the Rome Statute include- war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and crime of aggression[3]. However, the Rome Statute was formed due to several attempts for the purpose of creating international tribunal. It can be observed that towards the end of the 19th century, major steps have been taken by the international community for the purpose of instituting permanent courts having supranational jurisdiction. It can be observed that the commitment of heinous crimes increased more than before during the Second World War and therefore it became the major concern of the States to prosecute the criminals who are responsible for the occurrence of such criminal activities. In this regard, for the purpose of disclosing the basic principles of democratic civilisation, the inmates were not severely tortured in the prisons rather a regular trial as conducted in which the criminals had the right to defend themselves and were vested with the right to presumption of innocence.
The International Criminal Court is a legal framework which is involved in the prosecution of international crimes since time immemorial. In this regard, the International Criminal Court is vested with a permanent international jurisdiction for the purpose of investigating and prosecuting various international crimes. In this regard, it is noteworthy to mention here that the International Criminal Court is involved in the prosecution of genocide, war crimes and war against humanity. The Rome statute created the International Criminal Court in July 1998 for the purpose of prosecuting criminals committing serious international crimes. However, currently the intention of the ICC is to act as the authority of last resort in the absence of the national courts or when such national courts fails to prosecute severe international crimes. In recent era, the only mechanism that is available to the States is the interference of the ICC for the prosecution of political leaders who have engaged in crimes against humanity. The African Union in 2015 adopted a protocol in order to provide authority to the African Court of Justice and Human Rights for prosecuting heinous crimes however; no country has ratified such protocol ye[4]t.
International Criminal Court’s involvement in prosecuting International Crimes
On 25th June 2002, the Rome Statute added Namibia as its third state party. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the fact that the Rome Statute forms as essential part of the Namibian Law which is binding upon the State according to the provisions of Article 144 of the Constitution of Namibia[5]. It is noteworthy to mention here that since time immemorial, various expectations and legal obligations has been imposed by the Rome Statute on the member states. It can be observed that such legal obligations have been imposed in order to ensure efficient prosecution of heinous crimes by marking an end to the occurrence of such crimes. In inclusion to the legal obligations arising from the Rome Statute, it is expected on the part of the state parties to consolidate the crimes as depicted in the Rome Statute in relation to the national legislation of the states. In this regard, it can be mentioned that with the ratification of the Roman Statute, various legal obligations has been taken by Namibia. The duty of the Namibian legislature is to provide incorporation to the four major crimes, exercising its criminal jurisdiction and to prevent such crimes from occurring in future.
For the purpose of prosecuting international crimes in Namibia, the establishment of the International Criminal Court was encouraged. With the emergence of the ICC on July 2003, the parts of African and generally the Southern African region provided efficient support[6]. In this regard, the Rome Statute which being a multilateral treaty set up the International Criminal Court has been incorporated by the South African Parliament for successful prosecution on serious crimes in Namibia and other parts of Africa.
It is worth noting that on 18th July 2002, the implementation of the Rome Statute was passed of the International Criminal Court was passed by the Parliament of South Africa[7]. In this regard, it is noteworthy to mention here that the objective of the Implementation Act was to promote legal framework for effective functioning of the provisions of the Rome Statute in Namibian laws. However, the Rome Statute is entirely attached to the Implementation Act as the Rules depicted in such Act are referred to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence as illustrated in Article 51 of the Rome Statute. These procedural rules have provided the Courts of South Africa with an opportunity to carry on efficient implementation of the substantive and procedural provisions. It is therefore necessary on the part of the Parliament of Africa to enact laws in order to specify the constitution of crimes in Namibia. In this regard, the definition of three major crimes have been defined in the Implementation Act in relation to the definitions depicted Rome Statute. In Section 1 of the Implementation Act, the definition of crime has been illustrated and in this regard the definition of war crime has been depicted in Part 3 of the Rome Statute[8].
With the implementation of the Rome Statute and the prosecution of International Crimes in Namibia with the help of the ICC, the prosecutors are at the authority to involve themselves in the process of prosecution and investigation and provide appropriate punishment to those offenders who are guilty of such heinous crimes[9]. However, in recent era with proper evaluation it has been revealed that various obligations may arise while incorporating the provisions in relation to the requests made by the International Criminal Court for further assistance and collaboration. It is noteworthy to include in this context that prior to the personification of the Implementation Act in South Africa, the offenders guilty of crimes involving genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity has been put on trial and convicted[10]. However, the heinous crimes have not been tried in the South African Courts as the permission of the International Criminal Court has not been obtained.
Namibia’s involvement with the Rome Statute and the ICC
The Rome Statute has been at the Rome Conference which was held on 17th July 1998[11]. The International Criminal Courts were formed for the purpose of prosecuting criminals in Namibia as a result of the intervention of the Rome Statute. About 124 member states are part of the ICC out of which 34 are in Africa[12]. There were no such formalities associated with the Roman Statute and the ICC however; the jurisdiction of the ICC from the very beginning is limited to the four major crimes. Therefore, in such process matters regarding piracy and terrorism have been excluded from its purview. However, a jurisdiction can be acquired by the ICC in three ways. Firstly, a matter can be referred to the Court by a State Party. Secondly, the UN Security Council is at the authority to refer a case. Thirdly, an investigation can be initiated by an ICC prosecutor where any violation of the Roman Statute is observed.
According to the perspective of African leaders, since time immemorial the ICC is solely focussed on the activities of Namibia[13]. In this regard, it is noteworthy to mention here that the ICC mostly convicted individuals belonging to Namibia. In recent times, the ICC faced criticism as it prevented itself from prosecuting politicians who have committed heinous crimes. In this regard, Namibia’s International Relations and Co operations Minister have expressed his views regarding the prosecution of politicians. According to him it is illegal and at the same time unsound to arrest the head of the state[14]. In recent years, Namibia has established functional governance of its own and therefore the activities of the ICC are no longer its priority.
Conclusion:
In the conclusion it can be stated that since time immemorial, women and children were subjected to all kinds of violence in Namibia. However, with the emergence of the ICC the situation in Namibia changed. It is worth noting that the ICC which was established by the Roman Statute criminalized persecution which was based on gender crimes and crimes against humanity. It is noteworthy to mention that if Namibia remained a state party to the ICC, it would have set an example for the other states. However, the assistance of the ICC was not required by Namibia in order to address the issues regarding human rights abused within its region. It can be finally concluded that staying as a member state of the ICC Namibia has delivered strong message to the international communities.
References:
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Posner, Eric A., and Alan O. Sykes. “Voting rules in international organizations.” Chi. J. Int’l L. 15 (2014): 195.
Robinson, Darryl. “Inescapable Dyads: Why the International Criminal Court Cannot Win.” Leiden Journal of International Law 28.2 (2015): 323-347.
Rodman, Kenneth A. “Justice as a dialogue between law and politics: embedding the International Criminal Court within conflict management and peacebuilding.” Journal of International Criminal Justice 12.3 (2014): 437-469.
Tiemessen, Alana. “The International Criminal Court and the politics of prosecutions.” The International Journal of Human Rights 18.4-5 (2014): 444-461.
Wills, Alexander. “Old crimes, new states and the temporal jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.” Journal of International Criminal Justice 12.3 (2014): 407-435.
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