ABSTRACT
In February 2014, the new DRC Amnesty Law came into force. In view of the long-lasting confl ict in the country and the persist ing impun ity that has accompan ied inter na tional crimes and gross viol a tions of human rights, this chapter exam ines the above men tioned Amnesty Law vis-à-vis the prin ciple of complement ar ity and scru tin izes the extent to which the Law complies with the oblig ations determ ined by the Rome Statute. To this effect, this chapter begins by provid ing an analysis of Article 17 of the Rome Statute, with a focus on the accom mod a tion of amnesties therein. It proceeds by expound ing on the main features of the DRC Amnesty Law, followed by its contex tu al iz a tion within the frame work of its legal prede cessors and the lessons learned from this. The chapter concludes by submit ting the author’s view on the poten tial of the 2014 Amnesty Law to contrib ute to peace and justice in DRC. In the conclud ing remarks, a few propos als regard ing the Amnesty Law’s imple ment a tion are made, with a view to striv ing for compli ance with the Rome Statute and refl ect the interests of the DRC popu la tion.
