Our projects

Examples of  Peace and Justice Initiative projects:

PJI Fellowship: http://www.peaceandjusticeinitiative.org/our-projects/pji-fellowship

Assisting in the development of the legal framework for the implementation of the ICC Statute

(1) The Peace and Justice Initiative, in collaboration with the CICC, is providing technical assistance in the resumed implementation process of the Rome Statute in Bolivia. Expert reports have been produced for the Commission within the Ministry of Justice, which is drafting the new Code of Criminal Procedure. The Manual on Implementation of the Rome Statute within the Bolivian legal system (Part 1, Part 2A and Part 2B) by PJI comments on the proposals of the Ombudsman concerning the cooperation regime and on the requirements of substantive implementation. In February 2013, this was presented to professionals of the highest courts in Bolivia at a conference organised by the CICC, ICRC and the Andean Commission of Jurists in Sucre, Bolivia. In this article, Ms. Elizabeth Santalla Vargas of PJI considers some of the remaining challenges for implementation in Bolivia.

(2) PJI gave expert advice on the Yemeni Draft Law on Transitional Justice and National Reconciliation to Mrs. Hooria Mashoor, Minister of Human Rights and Dr. Mohammed Almikhlafi, Minister for Legal Affairs, Yemen. PJI was pleased to work in partnership with the Yemeni Centre for Transitional Justice.

PJI’s Position Paper is to be found here: PJI Position Paper on the Yemeni Draft Law on Transitional Justice and National Reconciliation, together with the Yemeni draft Transitional Justice Law and Yemeni TJ law Arabic.

In addition, PJI addressed the conference “Justice is the only way to reconciliation and peace” organised by the Yemen Centre for Transitional Justice in Taiz, Yemen on 14-15 June 2012 and collaborated on the resulting list of recommendations and open letter to the President of the Republic of Yemen with respect to the Draft Law on Transitional Justice.

(3) In partnership with the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Justice (ICC Working Group) PJI reviewed the Nigerian draft ICC implementing legislation (Prevention and Punishment of Certain International Crimes and Offences Bill, 2011) and submitted a Position Paper recommending amendments.

(4) PJI developed a Position Paper for the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Ghana on the Ghanaian draft implementing law (International Criminal Court Bill, 2009).

Building capacity in the legal and related professions for handling core crimes cases

(1) Advising the Judges of the War Crimes Chamber of the High Court of Uganda, PJI developed a position paper on the law to be applied in domestic core crimes prosecutions, giving consideration to whether the new ICC implementing legislation can be used retrospectively.

(2) PJI is currently working on a Research paper together with Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP, Arnold & Porter (UK) LLP, and Clayton Utz, Australia on the issue whether customary international law relating to the core crimes can be applied directly in domestic legal orders in the absence of implementing legislation.

Awareness raising activities and building long term structural capacity

(1) PJI presentation to the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel Conference in Hyderabad, India, on the appropriate temporal jurisdiction to be given over the core crimes in legislation implementing the ICC Statute, 2011. A PJI paper on implementation of the Rome Statute was also presented to the African Conference of the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel in Abuja, Nigeria, 2010.

(2) The Peace and Justice Initiative participated with interventions at the 10th and 9th Sessions of the Assembly of State Parties, in New York, and also at the Review Conference in Kampala.