Wading in Troubled Waters: Supporting the Work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) through Domestic Legal Institutions in Kenya

Abstract

This article discusses the role of Kenyan domestic legal institutions in supporting principles and institutions of international criminal justice. It discusses how these legal institutions have interacted, supported and even applied the principles of international criminal justice amidst a very hostile political climate. This article argues that the current calls for withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court may be frustrated by these institutions because they have greater affinity to the principles of international criminal justice than political establishments. While acknowledging that the eradication of impunity should be a joint effort between domestic and international institutions and that the current tensions and calls for withdrawal are not good for everyone, the article argues that neither international institutions alone nor domestic systems can make progress unless there is collaboration as well as reforms in the entire international criminal justice system.

Keywords

• rome statute of the international criminal court; international crimes act (2009); post-election violence 2008; complementarity