Abstract
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court was established and adopted at a diplomatic
Conference in Rome, Italy in 2002. The dissertation adopted the doctrinal method of research with
primary sources of information drawn from ICC statute, while the secondary sources were drawn from
journals, articles and internet sources. The Court was established to investigate and try individuals
charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international Community, these include impunity for
genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and aggression. African states saw the Court as a great
solution to the problems regarding international crimes so they embraced the idea and joined it in large
numbers, that out of 124 member States, thirty-four were from Africa and Africa comprised thirty
percent of the ICC’s total membership. However, the attempts by the International Criminal Court to
prosecute the sitting heads of State caused discontent and deterioration in the relationship between
African Union and the court. African leaders accused the court of; selective justice, excessive focus on
Africa and its heads of state while it ignored the atrocities committed by western States. The initial
enthusiasm for International Criminal Court became riddled with controversies that in 2016, three
African states parties; South Africa, Burundi, and Gambia submitted written notifications of withdrawal
intention from Rome statute of International Criminal Court to the United Nations Secretary General
pursuant to the Article 127(1) of the Rome Statute. The notifications of withdrawals were welcomed
and supported by the African Union (AU) as part of its collective withdrawal strategy but it triggered
criticisms from a number of African states like; Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Nigeria, Senegal,
Tanzanian and Tunisia that reaffirmed their commitment to the court. However, in February 2017,
following Yahja Jammeh’s removal from power, the new Gambian president, Adama Barrow, revoked
Gambia’s notice of withdrawal. The South African government also revoked its own intention to
withdraw in March 2017, after the constitutional court ruled that the notice was unconstitutional and
invalid because it had not received parliamentary approval. However, the Burundi’s withdrawal
notification came into effect on 27th October,2017 and Burundi thereby became the first State that
withdrawed from the Rome Statute. This dissertation therefore analyzed the reasons for the withdrawal
notifications of the African States from the Rome statute of the international criminal court (ICC). It
also discussed whether the African states withdrawal from the International Criminal Court was legal
and if it was legal whether it was also legitimate taking into account that the offences under the Rome
statute have attended the status of the Customary International Law and are regarded as Erga Omnes
Obligation. It discussed the issues relating to the collective withdrawal of the African Union from the
ICC, and finally, it also discussed the implications of the withdrawal. It concluded on the need for the
state parties to abide by their obligations under the Statute in good faith. Drawing from the findings of
this dissertation, it was recommended that the African states should strengthen their national /domestic
Courts as complementary court to the ICC. They should also ratify and empower their proposed African
court of justice and human and peoples’ rights for its utmost functioning, in line with the structure of
other regional courts of similar status.