SELF-REFERRALS CONTRA OBJECTIVES OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Conrad Nyamutata
Abstract The mechanism of self-referrals at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been a source of considerable debate within international criminal justice scholarship. At the centre of the discourse is the ever-problematic interplay between law and politics. The Rome Statute establishing the court proclaims an intention to effectuate retribution, deterrence and serve the ‘interests of justice’. This Article assesses the self-referral mechanism against these penal objectives. The central argument of this Article is that the political pragmatism that has so far characterised self-referrals militates against the philosophical foundations and the object and purpose of the Rome Statute establishing the court. The preclusion of self-referring state actors from investigations contravenes the objectives of retribution, deterrence and the ‘interests of justice’ spelt out in the founding statute.