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The Future of International Criminal Justice
 An international conference on The Future of International Criminal Justice in Africa was held on 14-16 July 2010 at the Law School’s Chalsty Teaching and Conference Centre. It drew together 125 judges, academics, legal practitioners, activists, researchers, students, representatives of non-governmental and international organisations and members of civil society from various fields, from politics to African studies. This illustrious gathering was organised by the Wits Programme in Law, Justice and Developmentin Africa (PLJDA). The main focus of the programme is to engage in robust academic and practical debate on international criminal justice in the African context.
Key themes at the conference included Africa’s experience with international criminal justice, the credibility of such mechanisms and whether Africa, having vociferously supported the birth of the International Criminal Court (ICC), can now be heard to object to that court and its global jurisdiction. The conference also sought to identify practical ways of eradicating the culture of impunity that seems to prevail in many parts of Africa. The ensuing debate touched upon issues of wider concern to the administration of international criminal justice in Africa by institutions such as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the ICC.
The conference was opened on 14 July with a welcoming address by Professor Angelo Pantazis, then Head of the School of Law,and Professor Loyiso Nongxa, Vice-Chancellor of the University. These speakers were followed by the South African Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mr Andries Nel, who led the South African delegation at the recent ICC Statute Review Conference in Kampala. The keynote address was delivered by Mr Adama Dieng, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, Registrar of the ICTR and a noted and respected African human-rights figure.
After two days of robust engagement, the conference closed with an address by Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo. As the first event held under the auspices of the PLJDA, the conference can be hailed as having made an important contributionto discourse on the future of international criminal justice, governance and development in South Africa.
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