Life Imprisonment in International Criminal Tribunals and Selected African Jurisdictions - Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda.

Abstract

The study has three major aims: To give a detailed discussion of the question of punishment and the three major theories or objectives of punishment – retribution, deterrence and rehabilitation, from a philosophical point of view; To discuss the law and jurisprudence relating to life imprisonment in the international criminal tribunals of Nuremberg, Tokyo, the Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, International Criminal Court and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). The emphasis will be on the theories of punishment these tribunals have stressed in sentencing offenders to life imprisonment; To discuss the history and major legal developments relating to life imprisonment in three African countries, viz, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda. The study will also discuss: the offences that carry life imprisonment; the courts with jurisdiction to impose life imprisonment; legal representation for accused facing life imprisonment on conviction; the theories of punishment that courts have emphasised in sentencing offenders to life imprisonment; and the law and mechanisms governing the release of offenders sentenced to life imprisonment in the above three countries.