African Union Ministers of Justice and AttorneyGenerals  have protested against the abuse of universal jurisdiction that has lately characterised some western countries.

The protest, backed by Rwanda’s Premier Bernard Makuza, was made during a two-day African Union (AU) meeting that brought together about 50 African ministers of Justice and Attorney  Generals.

The high profile meeting that took place at Serena Hotel Kigali, got underway Monday and discussed among other things the issue of universal jurisdiction to African leaders and harmonisation of legal systems to accelerate intra-African trade.

The Chair of the meeting, Justice Minister, Tharcisse Karugarama, who is also the Attorney General,  tabled the issue of abuse of the universal jurisdiction and was fully backed by his counterparts from across Africa.

Karugarama said that abuse of universal jurisdiction is no longer a Rwandan issue but for all Africans, calling for a unified stand to fight neo-colonialism spearheaded by foreign judges hiding under international law.

He added that legal chaos would easily arise if the principle of universal jurisdiction is continuously abused.

"…should every judge in any country decide to apply local laws to other sovereign states, legal chaos would easily arise,” he underscored.

The Ministers’ protest comes after African Presidents also launched their attack on some individuals in the west who have bracketed themselves under international law to abuse the principle of universal jurisdiction. The presidents protested during the previous AU summit in Egypt.

Commissioner Mkwezalamba told participants that the African continent has for some time been engaged in a relentless search for solutions to the many problems and challenges confronting its Member States.  

"This resolve is what led to the establishment of the African Union, which unquestionably, is an expression of the strongest commitment of our leaders to address the complex socio-economic challenges that have long undermined progress on the continent,” he underscored.

Mkwezalamba also highlighted that several initiatives have been undertaken since the establishment of the African Union, amongst which is the harmonisation of the legal systems, notably, the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA).

To that effect, he called on the Ministers of Justice and Attorneys General, in their capacity as the main actors in the administration of justice in Member States or as the principal legal advisers to their governments, to ensure the successful implementation of the various integration legal instruments in their respective countries.

Later, Makuza pointed out that in the current globalised world, it is important to reflect Africa’s role and contribution in the formulation and application of international law and related concepts, such as the principle of universal jurisdiction.

With regard to the African Charter on Statistics, the Prime Minister explained that, without accurate statistics, it might be impossible to develop and integrate Africa’s economies, create a common market and play some role in the world economy.

"Your forum is a mirror through which Africa is able to see and ask itself its achievements in the long and noble journey of building nations that are democratic, characterised by rule of law and capable of positively contributing to the international governance,” he noted.

The consideration of the Draft African Charter on Statistics was also discussed in the closed session of the meeting and the harmonisation of ratification procedures in Member States, given that of the 35 treaties adopted under the aegis of the OAU/AU only 22 are in force.

The meeting that ended yesterday at Serena Hotel Kigali, was organised by the African Union Commission in collaboration with the Government of Rwanda. It was also attended by the Director of Legal Affairs of the African Union Commission, Ben Kioko.

Ends