One for all and all for one; Combatting human trafficking in East Africa by granting limited criminal jurisdiction to the East African Court of Justice

This thesis proposes a regional protocol to be adopted by the East African Community (EAC) that creates a regional human trafficking law, grants limited criminal jurisdiction to the East African Court of Justice (EACJ), and promotes complementarity by allowing Partner States possessing a transnational criminal court to retain domestic jurisdiction over trafficking matters. This thesis addresses the current issue of human trafficking in the five Partner States of the East African Community---Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. All five countries are currently considered both destination and source countries for human trafficking. In response to the issue of human trafficking in East Africa, the East African Legislative Assembly issued a proclamation in August 2015 calling for Partner States to increase efforts to combat and prosecute human traffickers. Additionally, there is currently support among Partner States to create a regional trafficking law and grant criminal authority to the East African Court of Justice. The call to establish a regional human trafficking law and grant limited criminal jurisdiction to the East African Court of Justice is addressed in Section I. While a regional solution is warranted, the bulk of work and change must be carried out at the Partner State level. A draft protocol establishing a regional trafficking law, granting criminal jurisdiction to the EACJ limited to human trafficking is proposed in Section II and included in the Appendix. This protocol creates a system of complementarity similar to that of the ICC allowing Partner States possessing a transnational court, such as Uganda's International Criminal Division (ICD) Court, to retain jurisdiction within the state. Partner States of the EAC have been reluctant to yield sovereignty over certain issues, including granting criminal jurisdiction to the EACJ. Section I evaluates the political history of the EAC and concludes that by allowing states the option of retaining jurisdiction if they establish a transnational court and limiting the jurisdiction of the EACJ to human trafficking issues, the Partner States will be more likely than not to ratify such a protocol. The current legal infrastructure of Partner States is analyzed including the process and challenges in the establishment of an international criminal division capable of handling transnational crimes. Section III discusses what a successful regional law looks like, addressing the establishment of a regional criminal court and the challenges that the EAC must overcome.