Decolonising International Criminal Justice: A Theoretical Reconstruction of the ICC’s Relationship with Africa

This dissertation provides a theoretical reconstruction of the International Criminal Court's relationship with Africa through the lens of decolonisation, contributing an original framework that moves beyond both uncritical ICC support and nationalist sovereignty rhetoric to develop a normatively grounded African engagement strategy. The accusation that the ICC functions as a neo-colonial instrument targeting African leaders while ignoring crimes by Western states has generated sustained controversy, leading to withdrawal threats and actual withdrawals by Burundi, South Africa, and The Gambia. Drawing on TWAIL, postcolonial theory, decolonisation scholarship, and systematic analysis of ICC prosecutorial decisions since 2002, this research develops a decolonial ICC engagement framework that distinguishes legitimate structural critiques of the Court from bad-faith sovereignty arguments used to obstruct accountability. It fills a gap in the decolonial international criminal law literature by developing the first normatively principled framework for reformed ICC-Africa engagement rather than advancing a wholesale decolonial rejection of international criminal justice. The dissertation applies this framework to a systematic analysis of ICC Africa-related decisions, situating Nigeria's specific position in relation to the Court's preliminary examination record. Original contributions include the decolonial engagement framework, an African state practice database on ICC relations, and a normative reform agenda for the Rome Statute system's relationship with Africa. Findings support targeted structural ICC reforms rather than withdrawal. Keywords: ICC, decolonisation, TWAIL, Africa, international criminal justice.