Mobile hearings in the Eastern DRC: prosecuting international crimes and implementing complementarity at national level

Abstract

Through the complementarity principle of the International Criminal Court, international criminal law enforcement is transferred from international courts to national courts. This has led to an increase of international actors’ focus on national courts to achieve international criminal justice. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) presents a significant example to examine the prosecution of international crimes by national courts and international actors’ support to Congolese legal system to promote complementarity and international criminal justice. International actors provide assistance to mobile hearings to prosecute international crimes and to implement complementarity at the national level in the eastern DRC. This article explores mobile hearings through their role in implementing complementarity in the DRC and international and national influences on mobile hearings regarding the prosecution of international crimes. The main argument is that although mobile hearings are significant to bring justice closer to local communities and increase the visibility of justice in remote and rural areas, their independence is in question as a result of the selective interest of international actors and political interferences coming from Congolese political and military elites.