Thomas Kwoyelo, former commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army, has been implicated in war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during armed conflict in northern Uganda from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. After years of deliberation on his eligibility for amnesty, proceedings against Kwoyelo are slowly moving forward before the International Crimes Division (ICD) of the Uganda High Court. This case is the first war crimes case to be tried within Uganda’s domestic court system—a unique example of the “domestication” of international criminal law. The Kwoyelo case is expected to reveal critical lessons for both the potential and limitations of national courts seeking to prosecute international crimes.
In the spring 2017 semester, clinic students assisted in the research and drafting of an amicus curiae brief for submission by eminent African legal scholars, including professors of Uganda’s Makerere University Faculty of Law and Justice Richard Goldstone of South Africa. In this brief, amici clarify the relevance and constitutionality of customary international law with respect to the confirmation of charges in this case. Students traveled to Uganda over spring break to participate in consultations about the brief and the constitutionality of customary international law with the Ugandan law professors and, on the basis of this additional research, helped to finalize the brief. The brief addresses a critical issue in the Kwoyelo case. By accepting the amicus filing, the court would strengthen precedent for role of amicus curiae briefing in subsequent trials before the ICD. Additionally, students produced an online library on customary international law as a resource for local lawyers and judges. They also contributed research to an article on the role of customary international law in the Kwoyelo trial for the California Law Review.