One or more additional presenters will be selected from a call for papers.
All the cases currently pending at various stages before the International Criminal Court (ICC) are related to situations on the African continent. By focusing all of its efforts on Africa, is the ICC targeting the continent, or is it merely attempting to deliver justice where the needs are allegedly greater? Have the repercussions of requesting a warrant of arrest for Sudanese president Omar Hassan Ahmad al Bashir renewed a need to more fully support the ICC, or has it revealed the ICC’s lack of power and encouraged other leaders to act with impunity? Currently, Libya is not a party to the ICC, but the ICC’s prosecutor has asked for an arrest warrant to be issued for Libyan leaders including Muammar Qaddafi and his son and the Libyan intelligence head. Is the role of the ICC to exercise justice even in nations that have not ratified the Treaty of Rome? Is this a further example of the Court’s success, or will this result in further embarrassment? The newly installed President of the Ivory Coast has asked the assistance of the ICC to investigate alleged crimes committed during the civil conflict that has devastated the country. Is this the demonstration that African countries support and indeed need the ICC in many instances? The panel will address these and many other provocative questions. Ultimately, the panel will ask whether the ICC is helping or hindering peace and justice on the African continent and what changes need to be made.
Business Meeting at Program Conclusion.