As a result of the first International Cooperation Visit from September 30th to October 3rd, the ACICJ was invited to participate in its Annual Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute meetings and execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the International Criminal Court (ICC) for greater cooperation. The Rector of GIMPA, Professor Philip Ebow Bondzi-Simpson and the Head of the ACICJ, Dr. Kwaku Agyeman-Budu therefore traveled to The Hague, The Netherlands to participate in the ASP and the MOU was duly executed on Friday 6th December 2019, signaling the formalization of the pre-existing relationship between the ACICJ and the ICC.
- African Centre of International Criminal Justice (ACICJ)
Post Office Box AH 50 Achimota
Accra Ghana, West Africa
Past Activities
On November 14th and 15th 2019, the ACICJ organized its second training programme of 2019, this time for Anglophone African Journalists. Applications were open to Anglophone African Journalists across the continent. By the end of the admissions process, which involved the screening of CV’s, Statements of Interest and demonstrated competence in reporting issues of International Criminal Justice, from interested applicants, thirty Anglophone African Journalists were selected to participate in the program. The participants represented the following countries Ghana (7); Nigeria (8); Kenya (6); Liberia (1); Sierra Leone (1); Zambia (1); Zimbabwe (1); eSwatini (Swaziland) (1); Rwanda (1); Malawi (1); Namibia (1) and Uganda (1). Return Economy flight tickets and accommodation at the GIMPA hostels were provided for the participants. The Resource persons for the programme were: Jean-Jacques Badibanga, Senior Trial Lawyer, ICC; Dahirou Sant-Anna, International Cooperation Advisor, ICC; Elvis Hovor, Cyber Crime/Cyber Security Expert, United States; and Joseph Roberts-Mensah, Africa Director, Wayamo Foundation.
On October 15th 2019, the ACICJ organized its Inaugural Annual Public Lecture in International Criminal Justice. The President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji, delivered the lecture. This event was highly successful and was attended by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who was the Special Guest of Honour. Members of the Diplomatic Corps also attended the event, together with other dignitaries and the entire GIMPA Community and sections of the general public, as the event was widely advertised. The President of Ghana in his brief remarks made a commitment that Ghana would soon enact legislation to give effect to the Rome Statute domestically in Ghana.
On October 10th and 11th 2019, the ACICJ organized its first training programme of 2019 for African Law Students. Applications were open to law students across the continent. By the end of the admissions process, which involved the screening of CV’s and Statements of Interest from interested applicants, sixty African Law Students (mostly from Ghana) were selected to participate in the program. There were also participants from Nigeria (1), South Africa (1) and Burkina Faso (2), who paid for their own flights in order to attend the programme. The Resource persons for the programme were: Jean-Jacques Badibanga, Senior Trial Lawyer, ICC; Dahirou Sant-Anna, International Cooperation Advisor, ICC; Evelyne Asaala, Law Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Nairobi; and Edmund Foley, Director of Programs, Institute of Human Rights & Development in Africa (IHRDA), The Gambia.
In the afternoon of Tuesday 1st October 2019, the Rector of GIMPA, Professor Philip Ebow Bondzi-Simpson and the Head of the ACICJ, Dr. Kwaku Agyeman-Budu, visited the ICC and held meetings with the leadership of all three organs of the court i.e. the Presidency, the Office of the Prosecutor and the Registry.
From the 12th to 13th December 2018, the ACICJ organized its final training programme for 2018. The target audience included Private Legal Practitioners, Public Prosecutors and Law Enforcement Agents. The aim of the programme was to build the capacity of this important section of society on the essence and utility of the International Criminal Court (ICC), so as to counter the negative narrative regarding the Court on the African continent. The training programme was once again facilitated by senior officials of the ICC in the persons of Jean-Jacques Badibanga (Senior Trial Lawyer at the Office of the Prosecutor) and Dahirou Sant-Anna (International Cooperation Advisor at the Office of the Prosecutor), as well as Mr. Edmund Foley, Head of Public Law Department, GIMPA Faculty of Law and Nnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo, Adjunct Lecturer in International Law, GIMPA Faculty of Law.
From the 23rd to 24th July 2018, the ACICJ organized its first two day training programme on International Criminal Law & Justice for Law Students from 8 African countries. The countries represented included: Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Uganda & Kenya. The programme built the capacity of these young students in the field of International Criminal Law & Justice. Subsequently, one of the participants from Uganda, Moses Nyanzi Kayima, was selected to serve as a Research Assistant/Intern at the Centre from September to December 2018. The programme was facilitated by senior officials of the ICC in the persons of Jean-Jacques Badibanga (Senior Trial Lawyer at the Office of the Prosecutor) and Richard Nsanzabaganwa (International Cooperation Advisor at the Office of the Prosecutor), and Dr. Fructuose Bigirimana, Dean of INES Ruhengeri Faculty of Law, Rwanda.
On Tuesday 28th November, the ACICJ held its first public lecture at the GIMPA Faculty of Law. Dr. Fructuose Bigirimana, the Dean of the Faculty of Law, INES Ruhengeri in Rwanda delivered this lecture. He was invited and sponsored by the ACICJ to serve as a Visiting Scholar for one week. Hence, he participated in the Third ACICJ training programme. The title of the lecture was: ‘Transitional Justice in Rwanda: From Retribution to Reconciliation’. The lecture traced the genesis of the Rwandan conflict of the early 90’s and provided perspectives on the mechanisms that were put in place in the immediate aftermath of the conflict in order to bring the perpetrators to book. This public lecture offered students of GIMPA Faculty of Law and the broader GIMPA community the opportunity to learn from the Rwandan experience, and further appreciate models of international criminal law and justice within that context.
The target audience for the third ACICJ training programme of 2017 was private legal practitioners, public prosecutors and law enforcement agents. This time around, instead of inviting applications, the ACICJ decided to target specific institutions to request for nomination of participants. This strategy proved hugely successful, as the training programme attracted participants from all the security agencies (the police, immigration, air force, navy, military) as well as private legal practitioners and public prosecutors. The program began on the 23rd November with a brief opening ceremony, where a Senior Trial Lawyer at the ICC, Mr. jean-Jacques Badibanga delivered a speech as the Special Guest Speaker. Also present at the opening ceremony was the Interim Deputy Director of the ACICJ, Professor Paolo Galizzi, the Dean of the GIMPA Faculty of Law, E. Kofi Abotsi and Mr. Kwaku Agyeman-Budu, Deputy Director of the ACICJ, who also served as Master of Ceremony for the opening.
The first session on the first day on the history of international criminal law and justice was facilitated by Mr. Dahirou-Sant-Anna, an International Cooperation Advisor at the ICC, who was invited and sponsored by the ACICJ to help facilitate the training programme. The second session was on the legal basis and justification for the establishment of the ICC, and was facilitated by Mr. Jean-Jacques Badibanga, a Senior Trial Lawyer at the ICC, who was also invited and sponsored by the ACICJ to help facilitate the training programme. The third session focused on the jurisdiction and processes of the ICC, and this was also facilitated by Mr. Dahirou Sant-Anna and Mr. Jean-Jacques Badibanga.
On the second day of this training programme, Mr. Dahirou Sant-Anna and Mr. Jean-Jacques Badibanga facilitated the first session on the role and rights of participants in proceedings before the ICC. The second session on the situations and cases currently before the ICC was facilitated by Mr. Dahirou Sant-Anna and Mr. Jean-Jacques Badibanga. The third and final session of the second day was a moderated panel discussion on International Criminal Justice at a crossroads. Professor Paolo Galizzi moderated this session, which had the following persons as panelists: Mr. Jean-Jacques Badibanga, Mr. Dahirou Sant-Anna and Dr. Fructuose Bigirimana, Dean of the Faculty of Law, INES Ruhengeri, Rwanda. The Dean of the GIMPA Faculty of Law, E. Kofi Abotsi brought the programme to a close, and this was followed by distribution of certificates of participation.
The target audience for the second ACICJ training programme of 2017 was journalists and media practitioners. Once again, the programme was oversubscribed, and 80 journalists and media practitioners from a wide array of media houses were selected to participate in the two-day training programme. The programme began on the 12th October with a brief opening ceremony, where the Deputy Minister for Information, Ms. Ama Dokuaa Asiamah Agyei delivered a speech as the Special Guest Speaker. Also present at the opening ceremony was the Deputy Rector of GIMPA, Professor Philip Duku Osei, who welcomed the participants to GIMPA. The other dignitaries present included the then Interim Acting Director of the ACICJ, Professor Paolo Galizzi, the Dean of the GIMPA Faculty of Law, E. Kofi Abotsi and Mr. Kwaku Agyeman-Budu, Deputy Director of the ACICJ, who also served as Master of Ceremony for the opening.
The first session on the first day on the history of international criminal law and justice was facilitated by Mr. Dahirou-Sant-Anna, an International Cooperation Advisor at the ICC, who was invited and sponsored by the ACICJ to help facilitate the training programme. The second session was on the legal basis and justification for the establishment of the ICC, and was facilitated by Mr. Edmund Foley, Head of the Public Law Department at GIMPA Faculty of Law, and Mr. Jean-Jacques Badibanga, a Senior Trial Lawyer at the ICC, who was also invited and sponsored by the ACICJ to help facilitate the training programme. The third session focused on the jurisdiction and processes of the ICC, and this was also facilitated by Mr. Dahirou Sant-Anna and Mr. Jean-Jacques Badibanga.
On the second day of this training programme, Mr. Dahirou Sant-Anna, Mr. Jean-Jacques Badibanga, and Mr. Chris Nyinevi of the Faculty of Law at KNUST facilitated the first session on the role and rights of participants in proceedings before the ICC. The second session on the situations and cases currently before the ICC was facilitated by Mrs. Enam Yankah, a lecturer at the GIMPA Faculty of Law, Mr. Dahirou Sant-Anna and Mr. Jean-Jacques Badibanga. The third and final session of the second day was a moderated panel discussion on Media Ethics and Effective Legal Communication for Journalists. Mr. Kwaku Agyeman-Budu moderated this session, which had the following persons as panelists: Mr. Edmund Foley, Mrs. Enam Yankah, Mr. Jean-Jacques Badibanga, Mr. Dahirou Sant-Anna and Mrs. Eudora Koranteng, Senior Legal Practitioner in Ghana and now Ghana’s Ambassador to Italy. Mr. Victor Brobbey, Head of Private Law Department at GIMPA Faculty of Law and Acting Dean brought the programme to a close, followed by distribution of certificates of participation.
After the ACICJ was established in May, the Centre began advertising its first training programme on International Criminal Justice. The target audience for this programme was law students at the various Law Faculties in Ghana, as well as the Ghana School of Law. Unsurprisingly, the programme was oversubscribed with more that 100 applications received during the advertisement period. Approximately 82 applicants were however selected to participate in the training programme.
The programme was opened on the 10th of August with a brief opening ceremony where a speech was delivered on behalf of Justice William Atuguba, Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana, who was unable to be present due to scheduling conflicts. Some of the dignitaries present for the opening ceremony included the Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Caecilia Wijgers, as well as the Dean of the GIMPA Faculty of Law, E. Kofi Abotsi and the Interim Acting Director of the ACICJ, Professor Paolo Galizzi. The Deputy Director of the ACICJ, Lecturer at the GIMPA Faculty of Law and then SJD Candidate at Fordham Law School in the US, Mr. Kwaku Agyeman-Budu served as the Master of Ceremony for the occasion.
The first session on the first day of the programme was dedicated to the history of international criminal law and justice, which was facilitated by Ms. Maame A. Mensa-Bonsu, Law Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Lancaster University Ghana, and also a PhD Law student at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. The second session was a panel discussion that dealt with the international crimes that the ICC has a mandate and jurisdiction over. Kwaku Agyeman-Budu moderated this session that featured the following panelists: Mr. Chris Nyinevi, Assistant Law Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST); Dr. Prize McApreko, Head of the Social Science Department at Takoradi technical University; and Mrs. Audrey Abayena, Head of the Legal & Consular Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ghana.
The third session covered the legal basis and justification for the establishment of the ICC. Mr. Edmund Foley, Head of the Public Law Department at the GIMPA Faculty of Law, facilitated this session. The second day of the training programme began with a lecture on the jurisdiction and processes of the ICC, which was delivered by Mr. Chris Nyinevi. The second session of the second day dealt with the situations and cases before the ICC, and was facilitated by Mr. Godwin Dzah, Lecturer at GIMPA Law School and PhD candidate in law at the Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia in Canada.
The third and final session of the second day was a moderated panel discussion on African public perception and participation in the international criminal law and justice regime. The panel was composed of Mr. Edmund Foley, Mrs. Audrey Abayena, Mr. Chris Nyinevi and Dr. Prize McApreko. The programme was then brought to a close by the Dean of the GIMPA Faculty of Law at a brief closing ceremony where certificates of participation were distributed to participants who took part in the programme on both days.
On May 24, 2017 the ACICJ was formally established and opened at the GIMPA Law School in Accra. The Center had the privilege of having Her Excellency the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Madam Fatou Bensouda, and Her Ladyship Justice Sophia Akuffo of the Supreme Court of Ghana, who was subsequently elevated as the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana. Amongst the distinguished personalities that graced the opening and launch of the ACICJ included, Her Excellency Professor Akua Kuenyehia, former Vice President of the ICC, Her Excellency Caecilia Wijgers, Acting Ambassador of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana, and Professor Henrietta J.A.N. Mensa-Bonsu, Director of the Legon Center for International Affairs & Diplomacy (LECIAD).
Her Excellency Madam Fatou Bensouda expressed her delight at the opening of an African Center that will be dedicated to promoting the ideals of international criminal justice, and educating Ghanaians and the wider African community on the important role that the ICC plays within the context of international criminal law. Her Excellency Professor Akua Kuenyehia on her part shared her experiences on the ICC and stressed on the critical role that the court has played towards curbing impunity not just in Africa, but also throughout the world at large. The Acting Dutch Ambassador to Ghana, Her Excellency Caecilia Wijgers, also praised GIMPA Faculty of Law for delivering on its promise in establishing the Center, and pledged the continuous assistance of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Accra to cooperate and work together with the ACICJ towards sustaining its noble goals and agenda.