This book examines the concept of witness protection which is still at an early developmental stage in several African countries including Nigeria, from a legal and institutional perspective. Recent developments in Nigeria highlight the need to clarify legal and conceptual issues within the existing legal framework for protecting witnesses. Using the Nigerian case study, the book illustrates some obscurities inherent in the concept of witness protection. These are highlighted around five critical areas: the definition of witness protection; the scope of beneficiaries requiring protection; the nature of crimes necessitating protection; the nature of protective measures; and the administrative control of witness protection. Specifically, this book draws from the existing literature and practices of witness protection and adopts two distinct perspectives: the criminal justice perspectives and human rights perspectives as heuristic tools for analysing the concept and to separate the disparate influences that shape how it is construed. These distinctions are utilised throughout the book as an integrated way of conceptualising the concept of witness protection. By discussing the practice of witness protection within the Nigerian context, the book contributes to African conversations on the topic of witness protection. The clarifications made in this book are utilised in making normative proposals for developing a legal framework for witness protection in Nigeria. They are also useful for other African countries interested in developing a witness protection framework as part of criminal justice reform. This book will serve as a reference point for legal scholars, researchers, academics, (postgraduate) students and policy makers interested in the concept of witness protection. It would also be useful for courses ‘concerned with comparative criminology where there is an interest in developments in the Global South.’

This book examines violence against women in Africa and criminal justice from the perspective of African scholars, practitioners and experts. As a global and long-standing issue, violence against women is gaining public visibility across the African continent with some states announcing a national crisis warranting immediate redress. At the global level, the elimination of all forms of violence against all women and girls forms a key part of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality. Split across two volumes, these books present a comprehensive analysis of the latest research and theories, principles and practices of criminal justice systems, criminal justice accountability mechanisms, and the key challenges women face in their quest for justice on the African continent. This volume (II) focusses on sexual violence and vulnerable women’s access to justice in Africa. Volume I focusses on legislation and its impact, the limitations of criminal justice responses, and the cultural and social norms regarding access to justice. Together, they adopt a comparative approach that highlight gaps and good practices to provide a rich source of authoritative information for promoting an intra-African dialogue and cross-fertilization of ideas across the different criminal justice traditions in Africa. Both volumes seek to advance discussions on eliminating violence against women in Africa and speak to those interested in criminal justice, violence, gender studies and African legal studies.

"This book examines the concept of witness protection which is still at an early developmental stage in several African countries including Nigeria, from a legal and institutional perspective. Recent developments in Nigeria highlight the need to clarify legal and conceptual issues within the existing legal framework for protecting witnesses. Using the Nigerian case study, the book illustrates some obscurities inherent in the concept of witness protection. These are highlighted around five critical areas: the definition of witness protection; the scope of beneficiaries requiring protection; the nature of crimes necessitating protection; the nature of protective measures; and the administrative control of witness protection. Specifically, this book draws from the existing literature and practices of witness protection and adopts two distinct perspectives: the criminal justice perspectives and human rights perspectives as heuristic tools for analysing the concept and to separate the disparate influences that shape how it is construed. These distinctions are utilised throughout the book as an integrated way of conceptualising the concept of witness protection. By discussing the practice of witness protection within the Nigerian context, the book contributes to African conversations on the topic of witness protection. The clarifications made in this book are utilised in making normative proposals for developing a legal framework for witness protection in Nigeria. They are also useful for other African countries interested in developing a witness protection framework as part of criminal justice reform. This book will serve as a reference point for legal scholars, researchers, academics, (postgraduate) students and policy makers interested in the concept of witness protection. It would also be useful for courses 'concerned with comparative criminology where there is an interest in developments in the Global South.'"--

If Nigeria fails to prosecute the crimes recognised under the Rome Statute, then the International Criminal Court (ICC) will intervene. The ICC is only expected to complement the criminal justice system in Nigeria and is not a court of first instance, but one of last resort. This is what is known as the principle of complementarity. Before the ICC can step in, it must make a finding of ‘unwillingness’ or ‘inability’ on the part of Nigeria. It is only after this finding is made that the ICC can take over the prosecution of the crimes recognised under the Statute from Nigeria. This book examines the criminal justice process in Nigeria and discovers that the justice system is latent with the requirements of ‘unwillingness’ and ‘inability.’ The requirements, which serve as tests for assessment, are as they are laid down by the Rome Statute and interpreted by the ICC. This book offers recommendations as to what Nigeria must do in order to avoid the ICC intervention by reversing those parameters that give rise to ‘unwillingness’ and ‘inability.’ The International Criminal Court and Nigeria: Implementing the Complementarity Principle of the Rome Statute offers a contribution to the advancement of international law and will be of practical use to African countries. It aims to sensitise policy makers in different African countries in respect of policy options open to them to close impunity gap in their respective countries. This volume addresses the topics with regard to international criminal law and comparative public law and will be of interest to researchers, academics, organizations, and students in the fields of international law, governance, and comparative criminal justice.

This collection presents a summary of current knowledge regarding autistic suspects, defendants and offenders in the criminal justice system of England and Wales. The volume examines the interaction between each stage of the criminal justice process and autistic individuals accused or convicted of crime, considering the problems, strengths and possibilities for improving the system to better accommodate the needs of this vulnerable category of neurodiverse individuals. By explicating the core issues in this important but disparate area of study in a single place, the collection facilitates understanding of and engagement with knowledge for a wider audience of relevant stakeholders, including criminal justice practitioners, policy makers, academics and clinicians. It also incorporates key recommendations for improvement, thereby clarifying the urgent need for substantive change in policies and practices. The ultimate goal is to both improve the treatment and experience of autistic people subjected to criminal justice processes; and produce fairer, more appropriate systemic outcomes. While focused on the criminal justice system of England and Wales, the work will be valuable for researchers and policy makers working in similar systems, as well as those interested in neurodiversity more generally.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the current directions in social rehabilitation scholarship and research by bringing together the voices of legal scholars, criminal justice professionals, social scientists, and people directly impacted by criminal justice in a comparative, international, and interdisciplinary fashion. The volume offers a narrative of social rehabilitation in penal contexts through five main domains: theoretical-philosophical, legal-comparative, human rights, social scientific, lived experience, and policy. Collectively, the contributions provide a systematised examination of the normative facets of social rehabilitation and illustrate avenues for its implementation in criminal justice domains in the full respect of the rights of justice-involved individuals, casting a critical gaze on some the mainstream narratives dominating contemporary penal policy. The overarching legal approach is complemented by a selection of perspectives in social rehabilitation research emanating from social psychology, critical criminology, penology, and neuroscience. These perspectives inform and enrich the legal and jurisprudential debates on the qualification of social rehabilitation as a fundamental goal of justice across domestic and international legal systems. The book will be of value to academics, practitioners, advocates, and policymakers interested in current research dealing with the problem of punishment and the potential of social rehabilitation to more effectively deal with crime.

This book is concerned with the vulnerability of suspects and defendants in criminal proceedings and the extent to which the vulnerable accused can effectively participate in the criminal process. Commencing with an exploration of how vulnerability is defined and identified, the collection examines and analyses how vulnerability manifests and is addressed at the police station and in court, addressing both child and adult accused persons. Leading and emerging scholars, along with practitioners with experience working in the field, explore and unpack the human rights and procedural implications of suspect and defendant vulnerability and examine how their needs are supported or disregarded. Drawing upon different disciplinary approaches and a range of analyses – doctrinal, theoretical and empirical – this book offers unique insights into the vulnerability and treatment of the criminal accused. In bringing together a diverse range of perspectives, the book offers key insights into the recognition of and responses to vulnerability among suspect and defendant populations in criminal justice systems across European jurisdictions. The book will be a valuable resource for academics, practitioners and policymakers interested in how vulnerable suspects and defendants are protected throughout the criminal process, and those working in the areas of law, criminology, sociology, human rights and psychology.

This book offers a phenomenological perspective on the criminal law debate on robots. Today, robots are protected in some form by criminal law. A robot is a person’s property and is protected as property. This book presents the different rationale for protecting robots beyond the property justification based on the phenomenology of human-robot interactions. By focusing on robots that have bodies and act in the physical world in social contexts, the work provides an assessment of the issues that emerge from human interaction with robots, going beyond perspectives focused solely on artificial intelligence (AI). Here, a phenomenological approach does not replace ontological concerns, but complements them. The book addresses the following key areas: Regulation of robots and AI; Ethics of AI and robotics; and philosophy of criminal law. It will be of interest to researchers and academics working in the areas of Criminal Law, Technology and Law and Legal Philosophy.

In the 1990s, the promise of justice for atrocity crimes was associated with the revival of international criminal tribunals (ICTs). More recently, however, there has been a renewed emphasis on domestic accountability for international crimes across the globe. In identifying a 'complementarity turn', a paradigm shift toward domestic accountability in the field of international criminal justice, this book investigates how the shadow of international criminal tribunals influences the treatment of serious crimes at the national level. Drawing on research and interviews in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sierra Leone, this book develops a tripartite framework to analyse how states and tribunals work with, despite, or against one another in the fight against impunity. While international prosecutors and judges use the principle of complementarity to foster cooperation and decrease tension with government actors, Patryk I. Labuda argues that too much deference by ICTs toward states reduces the likelihood of accountability and may enable national elites to consolidate authoritarian power. By interrogating how international accountability stakeholders relate to their domestic counterparts, International Criminal Tribunals and Domestic Accountability advocates improvements to ICTs' institutional design and more dynamic interactions with states to strengthen the enforcement of international criminal law.

This book details and contextualizes the trial of Hissène Habré, who was prosecuted by a court in Senegal for his role in atrocities committed against Chadian citizens during the 1980s. It employs an innovative combination of first-person accounts from direct actors and academic analysis from leading experts on international criminal justice.