LCP4801 ASSIGNMENT 01 SOLUTIONS 2022
a. In terms of Article 4(h) of the African Union Constitutive Act, list and briefly explain the
grounds for intervention in the affairs of its member states. [10]
Article 4(h) of the AU’s Constitutive Act (2000) establishes ‘the right of the Union to
intervene in a member state pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave
circumstances, namely,
war crimes;
The term “war crimes” refers to serious breaches of international humanitarian law
committed against civilians or enemy combatants during an international or domestic
armed conflict, for which the perpetrators may be held criminally liable on an individual
basis. Such crimes are derived primarily from the Geneva Conventions of 12 August
1949 and their Additional Protocols I and II of 1977, and The Hague Conventions of
1899 and 1907. Their most recent codification can be found in article 8 of the 1998 Rome
Statute for the International Criminal Court (ICC). 1
1https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/CD/FS-2_Crimes_Final.pdf (Date of access: 03 March
2022).
a. In terms of Article 4(h) of the African Union Constitutive Act, list and briefly explain the
grounds for intervention in the affairs of its member states. [10]
Article 4(h) of the AU’s Constitutive Act (2000) establishes ‘the right of the Union to
intervene in a member state pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave
circumstances, namely,
war crimes;
The term “war crimes” refers to serious breaches of international humanitarian law
committed against civilians or enemy combatants during an international or domestic
armed conflict, for which the perpetrators may be held criminally liable on an individual
basis. Such crimes are derived primarily from the Geneva Conventions of 12 August
1949 and their Additional Protocols I and II of 1977, and The Hague Conventions of
1899 and 1907. Their most recent codification can be found in article 8 of the 1998 Rome
Statute for the International Criminal Court (ICC). 1
1https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/CD/FS-2_Crimes_Final.pdf (Date of access: 03 March
2022).
