Denial and acceptance of Rome Statute in Kenya, United states and Iran

International community historically adopted the Rome statute, on 17 July 1998,establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC). After it received 60 ratifications, theRome Statute entered into force on 1 July 2002 heralding in a new era of accountability forthe most serious crimes under international law. The new Kenyan constitution has introduced animmediate monist approach of implementing international legal standards. Accordingly, thetransformation from dual to monism will necessitate a discussion of theories of incorporation ofinternational instruments into national laws. This will set the basis of what method Kenya should follow.This paper attempts to address potential procedural problems with implementing the Rome Statute in anew monist Kenya and will argue that as a precautionary measure during the country’s transition anydeviation, by the court, from national law will require articulation and justification under aninternational framework. It will include a review of the Kenyan International Crimes Act 2003 (ICA)and its adoption into the domestic law of Kenya. It will also include Impact of the Rome Statute systemon victims and affected communities, the case study is Uganda. This paper examines the challengesfacing the Kenyan courts in relation to the exercise of universal jurisdiction and the criminalization ofinternational crimes. It will seek to point out the weaknesses and conflict between the Kenyanconstitution, The International Crimes Act and the Rome Statute. The ICA was silent on some aspectsof the Rome Statute and the paper will attempt to discuss these issues and what they portend in theimplementation of the Rome statute in monism. By introducing the Rome statute, this paper intends toindicate its importance in the scope of the international law and specially for the affected states. It willalso discuss the effect of the new constitution on the practical operation of the Rome Statue. Next, wehave a short glance at the status of Rome Statute Acceptability among Iran and USA, stating the purposeand object of Rome statute and finally conclude the discussion.

Keywords:

Domestic Courts , Domestication , Dualism , Implementation , International Criminal Court , Key challenges , Monism , Ratification , Rome Statute Treaty