African leaders should not embrace universal jurisdiction blindly

-Dr Eugene Ndzeghan Fai

Dr Eugene Ndzeghan Fai

Congratulations doctor on your brilliant PhD defence!
** Thank you editor-in-chief

“Immunity of state officials, international crimes and the exercise of universal jurisdiction”, what informed the choice of this topic for your PhD research?

** I chose the topic for two principal reasons: First, during my M. Phil I worked on the institutions that handle international criminal justice; and during that research work I came to realize that the immunities of state officials posed a serious impediment to international criminal prosecution. So, during my PhD I decided to research on the correlation between the two notions. But over and above, and as a jurist from the developing world I realized that the western world was using universal jurisdiction as an arm of somewhat legal imperialism. So I decided to research on this, so as to educate the public on the practice.


Did your research confirm some of these weaknesses that you sought to point out?

** You see, my principal objective of doing this research was to examine the interplay between the immunities of state officials and the prosecution of international crimes. But if this were to be examined globally it would have been too voluminous. So, I decided to introduce the notion of universal jurisdiction to limit the work to duel only around the notion of universal jurisdiction.

The conclusion I drew from the research is that certainly there are some international crimes that have gained the status of customary international law, and most prosecutions pay no regard to the immunities of state officials concerned especially in the use of universal jurisdiction. But this should not be over simplified to the assumption that international criminal law has simply superseded the immunities law. However, it has led to a shift from the absolute respect of the immunities of state officials to relative respect.

Of what relevance is this research to contemporary African society?

** The relevance of this work rest on the observation that the vast majority of cases prosecuted in universal jurisdiction are perpetrators from the developing world who are being prosecuted in the developed world. In fact, I am not aware of a single case in which a western official is being prosecuted in the developing world. This leads me to sound a caution not against the use of the principle of universal jurisdiction, but on the way it is used. I asked my self if universal jurisdiction is not a shift in western policy from the use of political tyranny towards legal tyranny. These were only some of the questions the research sought to answer.

So what were some of the recommendations you made for a better application of the principle of universal jurisdiction?

** The first recommendation was global; I pointed out that instead of political scientists and legal practitioners involving themselves in a battle over the use of the immunities law and the international criminal law, the two should rather sink their differences and collaborate for a better world order.  My second recommendation stemmed from a situation I found very troubling; I wondered whether a small African nation like Togo could pursue somebody like the US military General, Collin Powell, for the war crimes he committed in Irak. So, I am also recommending that African countries should stage an attempt at this so that we can also evaluate western behaviour towards this practice.

Any message to members of your defence jury?

** I would thank all the jury members especially Professor Ndiva Kofele Kale from whom I learnt a lot during the defence and who gave much quality to the defence. I would equally thank prof. Tabe Tabe Simon from the University of Dschang, who asked the greatest number of questions thereby putting my intellect and the quality of my work to test. In fact, he gave me the opportunity to edify the public on what I really attempted to work on. I also thank professors Fonyam and Gapsa for the very drilling questions that instigated me to dig even deeper than what I did in the work. As for my supervisor, Prof. Yanou Mike, I thank him and I owe him a lot, and I hope to continue working with him towards the improvement of our educational system.

What about young students of international law?

** I wish to address particularly students of the university of Buea - UB because this happens to be the first ever PhD defence in international law at that University. I exhort these students not to shy away from international law especially now that the world is fast becoming a global village. I urge them to look beyond our national boundaries and dare to write thesis that can compete with those from other universities in the world.

Before we end this interview can we know some of your previous academic pursuits?

** I am holder of a Bachelor’s Degree in law from the University of Yaounde 11, Soa; I hold two post-graduate diplomas from the Institute of International Relations, IRIC, Yaounde viz a Maitrise in international relations and an M Phil in international relations and conflict management. I also took a doctorat de troisieme cycle (I still do not know its equivalence in English) at the International Law Academy at The Hague. I also attended the Centre Universitaire de Reserche Administratif et Politique de Pecadier, CURAP, in Amiens France, where i obtained a post-graduate diploma in political analysis. All these qualified me to enrol for thes PhD program at the University of Buea.

So what next after this PhD?

** I will continue with research, research and research. I also want to settle down and grab the chalk so that I can pass on the Knowledge I have gathered to my younger brothers and sisters. I would also be available to the press to always share my knowledge with them. I seize this opportunity to thank the Cameroonian press for the immense contribution they are making towards the advancement of Cameroonian society.