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Taking Leaves out of the International Criminal Court Statute: The Direct Application of International Criminal Law by Military Courts in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 June 2013

Dunia P Zongwe
Dunia P Zongwe*
Affiliation:
JSD (Cornell); LLM (Cornell); LLB, B Juris (University of Namibia). I am indebted to François Butedi, Sigall Horovitz, Anne-Claire Jamart, Yaël Ronen and Harmen van der Wilt for their comments and suggestions on earlier drafts of this article. I also thank Shani Nyer for the meticulous editing. Needless to say any remaining errors in the article are mine. [email protected].
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Abstract

Article 215 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the entry point for international law into the DRC legal complex. It provides that international treaties and agreements duly ratified by the state predominate over Acts of Parliament. Cases and studies involving the direct effect or self-executing norms of international law in domestic cases are rare in the DRC. The correct ways of applying Article 215 of the Constitution and international law in domestic cases have not yet been authoritatively settled. The basic dilemma is whether courts should read the provisions of relevant international treaties into disputed provisions of DRC laws or read the disputed provisions in the light of the relevant treaty provisions.

Using as a case study the emerging practice of DRC military courts of directly applying international criminal law in domestic cases, the article argues that carelessly cutting and pasting formulations found in international treaties into the texts of applicable municipal laws infringes state sovereignty. Instead, the article proposes a strategy that would avoid unpleasant friction between international criminal law and municipal law, while encouraging cultural pluralism and the judicious intervention of international law in municipal law.

Keywords

international criminal lawDemocratic Republic of CongoConstitutionsubsidiaritymilitary courts
Type
Articles
Information
Israel Law Review , Volume 46 , Issue 2 , July 2013 , pp. 249 - 269
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and The Faculty of Law, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 2013 

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References

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23 It is noteworthy that, unlike many national constitutions, the DRC Constitution does not contain any express provision declaring its own supremacy. Its supremacy is implied from its text and explicitly recognised in judicial precedents and doctrinal writings.

24 Constitution (n 22), art 153.

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29 Avocats Sans Frontières, ‘Case Study: The Application of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court by the Courts of the Democratic Republic of Congo’, 2009, 10–14, http://www.asf.be/wp-content/publications/ASF_CaseStudy_RomeStatute_Light_PagePerPage.pdf.

30 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (entered into force 27 January 1980) 1155 UNTS 331, art 46(1).

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32 Author's own translation. The original French version reads: ‘Les traités et accords internationaux régulièrement conclus ont, dès leur publication, une autorité supérieure à celle des lois, sous réserve pour chaque traité et accord, de son application par l'autre partie.’

33 Constitution de la République Française du 4 Octobre 1958 (French Constitution), art 55. The original French version reads: ‘Les traités ou accords régulièrement ratifiés ou approuvés ont, dès leur publication, une autorité supérieure à celle des lois, sous réserve pour chaque accord ou traité, de son application par l'autre partie.’

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42 In addition to Eliwo and Massaba, see Military Tribunal of the Garrison of Kindu, Auditeur Militaire v Kalonga Katamasi, RP 011/0526, October 2005; Military Tribunal of Ituri District, Military Prosecutor v Kahwa Panga Mandro, First Instance Decision, RMP 227/PEN/2006; ILDC 524 (CD 2006); Milobs (n 39); Military Tribunal of the Garrison of Ituri, Bavi, RP 101/06, 19 February 2007. For summaries of these cases, see Avocats Sans Frontières (n 29).

43 The study by Avocats Sans Frontières (n 29) is one of the very few systematic examinations of DRC case law focusing on the applicability of art 215 of the DRC Constitution and international law by national courts.

44 Killander and Adjolohoun (n 35) 6.

45 The page references in the footnotes contained in this section are drawn directly from the original Eliwo judgment.

46 Eliwo (n 5) 12.

47 ibid 7–8.

48 ibid 8.

49 ibid 9.

50 ibid 10.

51 ibid 11.

52 Zongwe, Butedi and Clément (n 25).

53 Eliwo (n 5) 26–27.

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56 ibid 28.

57 ibid 31.

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59 ibid 12.

60 Law No O24/2002 on the Military Penal Code (18 November 2002), art 161.

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62 ICC Statute (n 7) art 7(1).

63 Eliwo (n 5) 27.

64 Elements of Crimes, ICC Assembly of States Parties, 1st Session, 3–10 September 2002, ICC-ASP/1/3, art 7(1)(g)–1.

65 ibid art 7(1)(g)–1(1).

66 Military Penal Code (n 60) art 169(7).

67 Congolese Penal Code (1940), as modified and completed in 2004 (Penal Code).

68 ibid art 170. The original French version reads: ‘Est réputé viol à l'aide de violences, le seul fait du rapprochement charnel des sexes commis sur les personnes.’

69 Military Penal Code (n 60) arts 103 and 169(7).

70 ICC Statute (n 7) art 77(1)(b) in conjunction with arts 5(1) and 7(1)(g).

71 Eliwo (n 5) 12.

72 ibid 35.

73 ibid 34.

74 Military Tribunal of the Garrison of Mbandaka, Mutins de Mbandaka, RP 086/0512, January 2006.

75 Eliwo (n 5) 35.

76 ibid 32. Elements of Crimes (n 64) art 7(1)(g)(1).

77 Eliwo (n 5) 38.

78 ibid 38. The tribunal ordered the state to pay US$10,000 to the relatives of the deceased rape victim, US$5,000 to each of the surviving rape victims, US$500 to each victim for their business goods and US$200 for their other property pillaged by the accused soldiers.

79 For an analysis of the sexual violence amendments to the DRC criminal law, see Zongwe, Dunia P, ‘The New Sexual Violence Legislation in the Congo: Dressing Indelible Scars on Human Dignity’ (2012) 55(2) African Studies Review 37CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

80 Law No 06/018 on the amendment of the Penal Code (20 July 2006), art 2§2 para 2. Author's own translation. The original French version reads: ‘Aura commis un viol… a) …; b) …; c) toute personne qui aura introduit, même superficiellement, tout autre partie du corps ou un objet quelconque dans le vagin; d) toute personne qui aura obligé un homme ou une femme à pénétrer, même superficiellement son anus, sa bouche ou tout orifice de son corps par un organe sexuel, par toute autre partie du corps ou par un objet quelconque.’

81 That tribunal first applied the ICC Statute over the Congolese Military Penal Code in Military Tribunal of the Garrison of Mbandaka, Mutins de Mbandaka (n 74): see Avocats Sans Frontières (n 29) 9.

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83 Constitution (n 22) art 16. Democratic Republic of Congo, Ministry of Human Rights, ‘Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Periodic Reports to the African Commission on Human Rights: Implementation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Period – from July 2003 to July 2007)', June 2007, para 35, http://www.achpr.org/files/sessions/48th/state-reports/8th,9th,10th-2003-2007/staterep8910_drc_2007_eng.pdf .

84 International Legal Assistance Consortium & International Bar Association Human Rights Institute, ‘Rebuilding Courts and Trust: An Assessment of the Needs of the Justice System in the Democratic Republic of Congo’, August 2009, 7, http://www.afrimap.org/english/images/documents/DRC-IBA-ILAC-Justice-Aug09.pdf.

85 The page references contained in this section are drawn from Dunia Zongwe, ‘Case Note on Ituri Military Prosecutor v Blaise Bongi Massaba, RP n° 018/2006 RMP n° 242/PEN/06’, Oxford Law Report, ILDC 387 (CG 2006).

86 Massaba (n 6) para F1.

87 ibid para F2.

88 ibid para F3.

89 ICC Statute (n 7) art 8(2)(b)(xvi) and 8(2)(a)(i).

90 Massaba (n 6) para F4.

91 ibid para H4.

92 Military Penal Code (n 60) art 2.

93 Massaba (n 6) paras H7, H9.

94 ibid para H1. With respect to the civil claim, Blaise Massaba and the government were jointly liable to the victims' relatives in the amount of US$300,000.00 for the killing of the victims.

95 ibid paras H2–H3.

96 ibid para H5.

97 ibid para H8.

98 ibid para H11.

99 It is noteworthy that the tribunal itself referred to art 26 in the final part of the judgment as a reason for its decision.

100 From its French name, Programme pour la Stabilisation et la Reconstruction des Zones Sortant des Conflits Armés. STAREC is a comprehensive programme for the reconstruction of zones in the DRC that have been afflicted by conflict, notably North Kivu and South Kivu. It has three components: (i) economic, (ii) social and humanitarian, and (iii) security components. Art 215 is relevant to the security component of STAREC.

101 Military Tribunal of the Garrison of Ituri, Auditeur Militaire v Kahwa, RP 039/06, 2 August 2006; Bavi (n 42). For summaries of these cases, see Avocats Sans Frontières (n 29) 100ff.

102 Military Tribunal of the Garrison of Kindu, Auditeur Militaire v Kalonga Katamasi, RP 011/0526, October 2005.

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112 ibid 7.

113 van der Wilt, Harmen, ‘Equal Standards? On the Dialectics between National Jurisdictions and the International Criminal Court’ (2008) 8 International Criminal Law Review 229–72CrossRefGoogle Scholar (arguing that a certain degree of differentiation between international legal standards and their interpretation in domestic courts is inevitable and even desirable).

114 Carter Jr (n 108) 319.

115 Carozza (n 106) 40.

116 State sovereignty is a well-established principle of international law. The United Nations Charter also recognises that principle: Charter of the United Nations (entered into force 24 October 1945) 1 UNTS XVI, art 2(1).

117 Massaba (n 6) para C8.