The Special Criminal Court in the Central African Republic: Failure or Vindication of Complementarity?

Patryk I. Labuda*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract (may include machine translation)

The Special Criminal Court in the Central African Republic can be viewed in two ways. The optimistic view is that it is a vindication of the idea that the international community should complement the efforts of states in the fight against impunity. The pessimistic view is that its establishment represents the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s failure to catalyze accountability at the national level. Against the backdrop of these two opposing narratives, this article examines the main legal features of this new ‘hybrid’ court and its relationship to the principle of complementarity enshrined in the ICC Statute. It addresses the following questions: the hybrid court’s legal basis under Central African law, its jurisdictional mandate, the mixed composition of its staff, immunities and amnesties, and the Special Criminal Court’s concurrent jurisdiction with the ICC. The article suggests that, although it is a promising example of international – national cooperation, the Special Criminal Court calls into question legal and systemic assumptions underpinning complementarity, the principle that gives states priority in prosecuting international crimes, which in turn raises questions about the relevance of complementarity in analogous conflict and post-conflict situations.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)175-206
Number of pages32
JournalJournal of International Criminal Justice
Volume15
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2017
Externally publishedYes

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