
Contents
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11.1 Introduction 11.1 Introduction
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11.2 Discourses on Sovereign Immunity 11.2 Discourses on Sovereign Immunity
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11.3 The President on Trial: Hissène Habré Before the Extraordinary African Chambers 11.3 The President on Trial: Hissène Habré Before the Extraordinary African Chambers
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11.3.1 Getting to the EAC 11.3.1 Getting to the EAC
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11.3.2 The EAC as a hybrid tribunal 11.3.2 The EAC as a hybrid tribunal
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11.4 Analysis: The EAC and Sovereign Power 11.4 Analysis: The EAC and Sovereign Power
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11.4.1 Criminal law theory in ICL 11.4.1 Criminal law theory in ICL
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11.4.2 Assessing Habré’s criminality 11.4.2 Assessing Habré’s criminality
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11.5 Conclusion 11.5 Conclusion
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11 A New African Pluralism in International Criminal Law: Sovereign Immunity and the Trial of Hissène Habré
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Published:January 2025
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Abstract
There is an ongoing disagreement in international criminal law (ICL) regarding sovereign immunity. International humanitarian law takes the possibility of challenging impunity as a central element of its mandate, in part because a fundamental norm of rule of law practice is that no one is above the law, and in part because leaders are those who arguably bear the greatest responsibility for the types of collective harms international humanitarian law would criminalize. This norm does not distinguish between sitting and former heads of state. Across Africa, however, there has been significant pushback regarding prosecuting sitting leaders for atrocity crimes. This has led to what is perhaps the central conflict defining ICL discourse today: a plurality of opinions regarding how sovereignty comports with state-sponsored atrocity crimes. The chapter examines the recent trial of deposed Chadian head of state Hissène Habré to consider questions of pluralism under ICL regarding sovereign immunity. Through a detailed analysis of the work and doctrinal content of the Habré trial, the chapter shows that while the Habré trial is celebrated as an example of bringing a former head of state to justice, the experience of the Habré trial does not change the balance as regards an African pluralism on the question of sovereign immunity.
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