Reimagining global criminal justice accountability: is the time ripe for a tripartite complementarity of courts?

This thesis examines whether there are compelling reasons for creating a regime of regional criminal courts (RCC) that can serve as complementary means of global criminal justice accountability alongside municipal criminal courts and global courts like the International Criminal Court (ICC). The research is an attempt to respond to growing controversies and frequent contentions regarding certain lapses and apparent frailties in the existing international criminal law (ICL) enforcement system. Much of the debate relates to perceived legitimacy and proximity deficits of several international criminal courts whose activities have sometimes been described as ‘distanced justice’ largely as a criticism of the fact that the courts seldom hold trials near the areas where they operate. But why is yet another study warranted in this area?

This PhD research is possibly the first elaborate normative investigation of the principal contentions regarding the use of RCCs as an ICL enforcement model. Above all, it is the first study that contemplates and expatiates the feasibility of a tripartite complementarity of national courts, RCCs, and the International Criminal Court. It considers not only an acceptable international policy for regionalising ICL, but also proposes and develops appropriate principles that could support efficient collaborative interactions within the envisioned three-tiered complementarity of courts. Through the rigorous examination of its objects, the thesis makes new contribution to the literature.

The study also contributes to knowledge by extending related research in the area. It draws from and expands Robert Woetzel’s early outline of the indicia of an international criminal court. Previously, there had been scanty detailed analyses of the identity and characteristics of an international criminal tribunal. Exploring this subject enables the thesis to closely grapple with a number of the vexing issues surrounding the global justice system in addition to uncovering certain basic properties that confer legitimacy, credibility, and quiddity to international criminal courts.