Motifs of law in the Victorian press & its precious e-shadow

An interview with

Craig Newbery-Jones

Lecturer

Plymouth Law School

at University of Plymouth

Craig Newbery-Jones is fascinated with the depiction of the lawyer in the 19th century legal press and how the debates on regulation bear resemblance to the undertones of contemporary debates on regulation of the legal profession. Future employability is the principal concern for most of today's law students and in this wide ranging interview the discussion also includes the importance of e-learning as well as embedding employability skills to the law degree curriculum.  


TheLawMap: Your PhD thesis, ‘Constructing a Popular Image: The Press Representation of the Bar in Nineteenth Century England', sounds absolutely fascinating. What are the most interesting aspects of 19th century legal history that may draw parallel with today's legal profession?

Thank you! I obviously think it’s fascinating, but I also truly believe that engagement with historical representations of the law and lawyers in sources of popular culture can greatly assist in our understanding of contemporary legal culture. Professional legal issues of the past can, and should, inform contemporary legal problems.

I will just give a brief premise of my research. I explore the representation of the barrister in the press of nineteenth century and its far-reaching effects on themes and motifs found in modern popular culture. The overall aim is to determine whether the press of the nineteenth century is considered to have created a popular public image of the bar, while investigating the nature of this image and the reasons behind its formation. Finally, it analyses the significance of this historical public image in the development of motifs of the lawyer in contemporary popular culture.

One of the most interesting aspects of my research has been examining how the problems facing the bar of nineteenth century England are markedly similar to issues being discussed and debated in relation to the modern profession. The press of the nineteenth century widely reported the bar’s regulatory matters and educational systems, and questioned their suitability to function in the rapidly changing society of Victorian England. At times, the debates are nearly identical to those being undertaken in contemporary society, especially the suitability of legal education and the transparency (or lack thereof) of self-regulation. It is incredibly thought-provoking to analyse how the bar responded to these criticisms in order to examine the legacy of these criticisms today.

Furthermore, it is interesting to see how these criticisms have perpetuated themes and motifs in historical and contemporary popular culture. Criticisms around self-regulation and deficient education have clearly encouraged concepts of the lawyer as greedy, as unethical and as a betrayer of trust, a legacy that we still can’t shake. Sources of popular culture can provide us with a medium through which to explore these ethical issues, interrogate problems in legal practice and examine societal perceptions of the law and lawyers, in order to address problems within the legal profession.

TheLawMap: Has the internet age led to a greater appreciation of legal issues across the globe?
 
I think that the internet age has led to a greater proliferation of sources depicting and discussing pertinent legal issues. I also think that social media and the internet have encouraged a more widespread public awareness of legal issues. Specifically, the digital age has shed light on many fundamental global legal issues and has stimulated dialogue across jurisdictional boundaries. The world has become a much smaller place, and has allowed legal practitioners and scholars to collaborate and explore global legal issues in ways not even envisaged just over a decade ago. Your blog is a testament to this.

However, I don’t believe that this has necessarily led to an increased appreciation or increased interest in legal affairs. The public has always been interested in the law, legal process and lawyers. Throughout modern history, there has always been widespread engagement with the law, specifically criminal law. From the age of public executions to more recent trials by media, the public has always been interested in legal processes and this has never abated. I believe it is the media that has changed, not the interest of the public.

As far as a greater appreciation of legal issues goes, I think the internet has done little to encourage this amongst the general public. I think the recent debates around legal aid exemplify this. While the bar was rightly campaigning against the proposed cuts in order to ensure access to justice and the right to legal representation, a wider public (and press) view was that it was about ensuring financial remuneration. This was simply wrong and is indicative of more general lack of appreciation of legal issues in society. This is something that needs to be addressed. Last week, the TES (Times Educational Supplement, UK) reported how the Church of England had encouraged education ministers to consider teaching Christian commandments as part of the proposed ‘British Values’ curriculum. I believe that it would be more judicious to teach legal rights and legal systems to school pupils. This would encourage a greater appreciation of the law, the legal system and the role of lawyers in society, while engaging the next generation of citizens in this fundamental state institution.
 

TheLawMap: You are passionate about 'embedding employability skills in the undergraduate curriculum'? What are the key challenges?

I am a passionate advocate of experiential learning and embedding employability skills in the legal curriculum. The Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) outlined certain deficiencies in undergraduate education but, more importantly, it has encouraged legal education providers an opportunity to evaluate the sufficiency of their programmes. While there are a number of challenges currently facing legal education in England and Wales, I truly believe that embedding employability skills in the undergraduate curriculum is vital in beginning to surmount these.

One of the greatest challenges in modern legal education is actually defining employability skills, and ascertaining how this can compliment legal education. In a forthcoming article, I outline a revised definition for legal employability skills and advocate how we can provide better education to students for legal and non-legal employment, while also encouraging students to consider more critically the role of the lawyer in society. I believe that there needs to be a clear paradigm through which to develop a comprehensive curriculum of employability in order to allow students to acquire a full ‘employability toolkit.’ We must seriously think about what students need in the twenty-first century workplace and develop tailored employability programmes. This can be difficult to do without clearly defining employability.

Another challenge is finding a place for experiential learning, which includes substantial opportunity for reflection, in legal education. English undergraduate legal education has a strong tradition based around acquiring core substantive knowledge. We need to compliment this by providing experiential learning opportunities that include substantial reflective processes. This may seem difficult but experiential learning must have a place in the law school of the future and must contain reflective components. Reflection is something that is prevalent in all spheres of employment and should be actively encouraged in legal education. Reflection can also ensure that students are able to develop their own skills and isolate their own weaknesses. This process of reflection can also explicitly demonstrate to students the skills they have acquired and developed.

The existing debates around education provide the legal academy an opportunity to holistically consider how law schools can embed general employability skills, legal skills and collective values and attitudes with curricular to better prepare our students for twenty-first century practise.
 

TheLawMap: Please tell us about your work on the development of the VBR (virtual board room), the collaborative environment that gives students the opportunity to work together and prepare caseload work by researching tasks using specific legal resources.
 
The VBR is something I’m extremely proud of. During my lectureship at the University of Exeter, I acted as the law school’s e-learning and digital resource coordinator. In this capacity, I was responsible for a number of curriculum innovations and educational improvements.

One of the most notable projects I was involved in was the first year restructuring project management team. This project completely redesigned the delivery of the first year law degree and created a vehicle for placing employability, experiential learning, problem solving and professional practice at the heart of the law degree. For me personally, one of the most important aims of this project was to ensure that our students could appropriately develop their digital literacy and demonstrate collaborative working skills in order to compete in the contemporary legal marketplace.

To achieve this, I conceptualised the ‘virtual boardroom.’ The VBR was an online collaborative platform that sought to assist students in managing their casework and facilitate more efficient group working. While researching potential software platforms, it was obvious that many existing collaborative sites were not suitable for undergraduate students due to their complexity. In conjunction with Mike Jeffries-Harris (University of Exeter CSSIS e-learning coordinator), we agreed upon an ELGG platform. This allowed us to create a ‘bridge’ between social media platforms and professional collaborative software to encourage engagement and simplify the user experience. Due to his skills and experience, the platform was constructed by Mike and hosted on the law school’s website. This platform included numerous features that were related to employability and collaborative working, a feature of modern employment. These features included:

• Discussion - Within each Firm page there was a discussion tool where students could continue conversations they may have started face-to-face and work remotely using an Adobe Connect Room to videoconference.
• Messages – Allowed students to communicate directly, one to one, or to all the firm members.
• File Upload and Editor – Students were able to upload and share important documents and resources. All the firm’s members could also edit these online.
• Bookmarks – Allowed students to share bookmarks and relevant materials with their firm.
• Twitter and RSS Feeds – Appeared on the students individual dashboards to assist in them remaining up-to-date with news and social media.
• The Wire – Student were able to keep friends and colleagues up-to-date with what they were working on.
• Blog – Students could complete their own personal blog or learning journal space.
• Answers - Students could post questions to the whole Boardroom and receive answers.
• Links to Team Match Software - Students could identify their skills and maximise their roles within the firm.

I am currently piloting a similar project at Plymouth University as part of our ‘Dispute Resolution Skills’ module. Instead of an ELGG platform, we are using the SANSspaceplatform to focus more specifically on constructing and organising case files. Our students work through a case file, from first contact with the client to advocating at trial, to give them experience in all aspects of professional legal skills. I have also developed a specific reflective component to the assessment, in order to encourage the students to evaluate their own development and signpost the skills they should have developed upon completion of the course. This reflection will utilise SANSspace video recording facilities.

TheLawMap: Is there a personality from the past or present within the ranks of the legal profession, legal academia or the judiciary who you admire the most?

That is such a difficult question as I have had the pleasure of working with some phenomenal legal scholars during my career and it would be unfair to isolate just one. This might read like a bit of a roll of honour but I admire them all. Professor David Sugarman (Lancaster University), Professor Chantal Stebbings (University of Exeter), Professor Kim Stevenson (Plymouth University) have all had a profound impact on my career, and Dr Mitchell Travis (University of Exeter) is a brilliant colleague, whose academic scholarship has been an immense inspiration on my current research. Finally, Associate Professor Sue Prince (University of Exeter) has been a phenomenal mentor and a real inspiration. Sue encouraged and guided many of my early ideas when appraising legal education, and I can still rely on her feedback on any ideas I have. I really admire her dedication to education, her commitment to pro bono legal services, and her loyalty to her students. 

Craig is a lecturer in law at Plymouth University Law School. This role involves contributing effectively to the delivery of the LLB programme, teaching on the core Introduction to Law, Legal Systems and Skills, Dispute Resolution and Contract Law modules. This includes module administration, lecturing, workshop tutoring and examination responsibilities. Craig has also been responsible for the development and leadership of a number of other legal modules including Introduction to Law for Law Minors, Effective Legal Problem Solving, Contemporary Legal Issues, and Contract Law for the GDL (Graduate Diploma in Law).

With special thanks to Craig Newbery-Jones for his valuable time. He maintains an active social media presence through Twitter. When is not engaged in lecturing or research, he has a keen interest in music and plays bass in a band based in Exeter. He owns a VW camper van and spends many weekends travelling Devon and Cornwall's beautiful countryside.  

The title of this piece is a reference to the interviewee's passion for Victorian law as well as e-learning for today's students. 






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“To be left alone is the most precious thing one can ask of the modern world”

An interview with

Dr Paul Bernal

Lecturer 

Information Technology, Intellectual Property and Media Law

at University of East Anglia Law School

Paul Bernal is fascinated with the concept of privacy and what is means to us in this socially connected world. His background is unusual for a legal academic. His first degree was in Mathematics and he has been a Chartered Accountant, done pioneering work in the early days of the internet, and had been the finance director of a mental health and criminal justice charity.
 

TheLawMap: Is privacy a modern concern? Did we think about privacy differently as a society before the age of the internet?

It’s interesting – privacy gets attacked from both directions. Some say privacy is a modern concern, that we didn’t care about it in the past – they often put forward some kind of image of an idealised ‘village’ or ‘small town’ life where everyone knew everything about everyone else and all was harmonious and wonderful. Others say that privacy is out-dated – Mark Zuckerberg’s famous comment that ‘privacy is no longer a social norm’ is perhaps the best example of this.

I don’t think either are right – I think the desire and need for privacy is something inherent in our humanity. It manifests itself differently depending on the circumstances, but we all want it, and we always have. Look at the Catholic Church’s system of confessions – behind it lies the idea that we have things that we want to share only with God, not with people in the ‘material world’. Almost all religions have something similar. It’s not about hiding things – but about what matters to us. Zuckerberg and others’ ideas that young people don’t care about privacy are equally misguided and misconceived – as anyone with a child should realise. My daughter already valued and demanded her privacy when she was three – she wanted to do things privately, have secrets shared with her friends and so forth. Teens who share stuff on Facebook can be devastated to know that their parents or teachers have access to them. What we like about privacy depends on what our situations – and on who has power over us.

TheLawMap: In a recent blog post you referred to ‘the death of privacy’. Does privacy pose the same level of threat within a democracy as it may do to an authoritarian state?

Actually I think precisely the opposite. Privacy doesn’t really threaten a democracy – in helps it and supports it. It’s a contentious view, I realise, and something I’m working on putting into written form. Ultimately, privacy increases trust and supports the key civil liberties that are the lifeblood of a democracy. Without privacy, we can’t have freedom of speech – people are far less likely to speak out, or seek out information that the ‘authorities’ might view as suspicious if they feel they’re under surveillance. A true democracy should be willing to trust its population – not view everyone as suspicious, as a potential terrorist or subversive. It’s hard for authorities to make the philosophical leap required – but in the end I suspect they may have to, or lose the trust of the people.

TheLawMap: Each day we create new social media entries and participate in shared content. You wrote an academic paper about 'A right to delete' published in the European Journal of Law and Technology. Is the notion of a privacy friendly internet just a dream? 

In some ways the right to delete hangs in the balance right now. From a legal perspective, the reform to the Data Protection regime which includes the formal ‘right to be forgotten and to erasure’ is the subject of intense negotiation. There is a vote on Monday 21st October – but even after that there is a long way to go. In California what’s been labelled a ‘poor man’s right to be forgotten’ has been voted through – but it’s not nearly as potent as the real thing.

On the other hand, people are starting to demand the right to delete, and service providers are beginning to respond. It’s possible (though hard) to delete your Facebook account these days, for example. As people demand it, companies will respond. In many ways this is likely to be a much more practical way than demanding laws. Ultimately, when people want it enough, companies will respond.

TheLawMap: I read your thoughts on the Draft communication bill with interest. What concerned you the most about this draft bill?

The Communications Data Bill was withdrawn, after a great deal of pressure and hard work from advocates – my submission was one of thousands – so from a legal perspective it doesn’t exist. The real problem, though, is that all the information we’ve now got from Edward Snowden has made it pretty clear that the surveillance envisaged in the Bill was already taking place – the Bill seems to have been some kind of attempt to get retrospective authority for something GCHQ and others were doing regardless of the law! All those concerns, therefore, are still concerns – all those risks are still real risks, and need to be taken seriously. I think the politicians are starting to wake up to the fact that the wool was pulled over their eyes by the intelligence services, and they’re not happy about it. They shouldn’t be!

TheLawMap: In your opinion, Is there any difference in how privacy is viewed by citizens across the world?

As I said in my answer to the first question, I think privacy is something that we all care about – and always have. There are cultural differences – different things matter to different people in different ways – but we all care about our privacy. There are those who would like to claim, for example, that in parts of Asia they don’t care about privacy, and to suggest that privacy is some kind of ‘western’ concept being imposed upon them. From my experience I would say they’re quite wrong. When I teach Asian students – and in my main privacy class at the UEA last year we had Chinese, Thai and Indian students amongst others – it is very clear that they do care about privacy, and care about it very much. Generally when people say things like ‘privacy isn’t a value for us’ I find there is some kind of self-interest involved: it suits authoritarian regimes, for example, to say that it’s OK for us to use surveillance because our citizens don’t care about privacy. It’s a similar story to that with Mark Zuckerberg – Facebook would very much like privacy no longer to be a social norm. it serves them to suggest that, just as it serves a dictator to suggest that the citizens of their country don’t mind being under constant surveillance. That doesn’t make it true.

TheLawMap: I was intrigued by your Symbolic Web Theory. What would be the human rights implication of this theory if it could be implemented across the world? 

You’ll have to wait for my book ‘Internet Privacy Rights’ to come out next year for a proper answer to that question – but ultimately I believe that understanding the implications of the theory is one of the keys to building a more privacy-friendly internet. The theory suggests that we’re in a symbiotic relationship with the big providers on the internet: we depend on their ‘free’ services, they rely on being able to gather and use our data. If we understand that relationship – and understand our power within that relationship, we can start to take a bit more control over how the internet works, and help to demand a more ‘privacy-friendly’ net. A more privacy-friendly net can aid human rights all over the world. That, however, is very much a simplification. The book will come out in early 2014 – you can learn more then.

TheLawMap: What attracts a student to study the areas of law that you take a special interest in?

Three main things, I would say. Firstly, it is an area that they can relate to – all students use the internet, the vast majority use Facebook, Twitter and so on, and most have concerns about their privacy. Secondly, they can see that this is an area of increasing interest and concern – and might well be an area where work opportunities expand. Thirdly, they think it could be fun! This is far from a dry area of law.

TheLawMap: If you could change something within the legal profession, what would it be?

It may not seem to have a direct relationship to my own work, but the thing that bothers me the most at the moment is the way that access to justice is being attacked, and the way that poorer people, more vulnerable people, are almost certain to be squeezed out. What Grayling is doing to Legal Aid is nothing short of disastrous – so we need to do everything we can not just to oppose it but to reverse it.

TheLawMap: I understand that you are a passionate supporter of Wolverhampton Wanderers and love football. English Premiership clubs spent over 620 million pounds in the recent player transfer window with many lawyers and agents taking a significant role in the negotiations between the clubs and the players. Is money ruining the beautiful game?

I’m afraid money isn’t ruining the game – it has already ruined the game. Football isn’t the game it was. I still love it, and even when my team are doing very badly (we’ve just suffered two successive relegations) I don’t in any way lose interest. Now, however, it’s much more a commercially packaged experience, much less about real passion. There are good things about the new game – more ‘family-friendly’ games, far less racism (though it hasn’t gone away completely) and much more comfortable and attractive stadiums even in the lower divisions – but the depth of feeling seems to have gone. I suppose it’s inevitable, but that doesn’t make it particularly good. Mind you, I still get a lovely feeling of tension and excitement with pretty much every game, so it can’t be all bad!

With special thanks to Paul Bernal for his valuable time. He maintains an active social media presence through Twitter and his engaging personal blog sharing thoughts on law, politics and society, but usually with a subtext of privacy.  


The title of this interview, 'To be left alone is the most precious thing one can ask of the modern world' is a quote from Homage to Qwert Yuiop, by Anthony Burgess, published in the United States as But Do Blondes Prefer Gentlemen?

The Role of the Lawyer in enacting Justice & the Legal Process in Zimbabwe

The High Court in Bulawayo

  

An Interview with

Nqobani Nyathi

Lawyer

Legal Resources Foundation Zimbabwe

TheLawMap: Is the perception of the legal profession any different between Zimbabwe and the UK? Is there perhaps a greater reverence towards the profession in Zimbabwe and to an extent in this part of Africa than how lawyers are perceived here in UK?

The perception of lawyers is the same worldwide. Who does not know of a lawyer joke? The legal profession is still seen as a necessary traditional profession which to a larger extent advocates for justice and equality and as a means for solving disputes, although always comically vilified.  There are different perceptions on issues such as ethics but I believe the profession has been tried and tested on that.

Zimbabwe has a fused legal profession where lawyers are collectively referred to as ‘legal practitioners’ as opposed to dividing between Solicitors and Barristers. This system has many disadvantages but there is no choice in a country where legal aid is virtually nonexistent and where justice is only accessed by those who can afford it. It is also the same system that is responsible for a mediocre judiciary which has hindered the positive development of our domestic jurisprudence. To a greater extent I feel that the legal profession in Zimbabwe has a lot to learn from other jurisdictions.

It is impossible to offer quality legal services in a fused system where a legal practitioner is responsible for taking instructions, drafting pleadings, preparing for trial and appearing in court for a trial or hearing (at the same time focusing on other aspects of legal practice such as commercial law) . It is frustrating and negatively affects the quality of presentation. Even if the profession was to be divided, only a few will afford services of advocates who will be seen as specialists on specific areas.

Another negative impact on the legal profession in Zimbabwe is the structuring of the law firms. There are approximately four hundred law firms and approximately one thousand registered lawyers in Zimbabwe, with an average of 2.5 lawyers per law firm. It is not unusual to find sole practitioners. The practice of law requires guidance and interaction between the legal practitioners which cannot be achieved if members practice alone or are few, overwhelmed with work and sometimes inexperienced. In this regard the legal profession in Zimbabwe is failing to give clients the deserved quality services under the circumstances.

I have a lot of respect for the legal professing in the United Kingdom and in this part of Africa; I respect the legal profession in South Africa, although it is still undoubtedly divided on racial lines. I believe it is a trendsetter in many areas.

TheLawMap: The Law Society of Zimbabwe was formed in 1981 to replace the previous bar association with its membership drawn from all registered legal practitioners residing in Zimbabwe whether in private practice, in commerce or in civil service. As a practising lawyer, what would be the principal differences in role and scope between the Law Society of Zimbabwe and the Law Society of England & Wales?

The law society of Zimbabwe governs the legal profession and is set up in terms of the Legal Practitioners Act [Chapter 27:07]. Since 1981 Zimbabwe has a fused profession and registered lawyers entitled to practice fall under the category of “legal practitioner”, unlike the Law Society of England and Wales under which the Solicitors fall. Every legal practitioner has a right of audience in any court in which persons are entitled by law to legal representation.

There is however a de facto Bar with members practicing as “Advocates” in a manner that is similar to that of Barristers, while such members may have their informal rules of practice, they fall under the Law Society as any other member. The society is obviously aware of members who practice as such so as to differentiate them with those who practice in partnerships (similar to Solicitors), who have more obligations, for instance in relation to the keeping of trust accounts. The Law Society is responsible for governing the conduct of legal practitioners as defined in the Legal Practitioners Act, including the issuing of practicing certificates to those in private practice. 

Every registered Legal practitioner is entitled to be a member of The Law Society of Zimbabwe. The law society of Zimbabwe is managed and controlled by a council of that is composed of not less than eleven councillors of whom at  least nine are elected by members. The remaining minority is appointed by the Minister of Justice and Legal affairs. The Law Society of Zimbabwe is therefore an independent body. The councillors once elected, in turn elect, from among themselves, a President and Vice President. The Executive Secretary (a permanent employee) is in charge of day to day activities of the Law Society of Zimbabwe and reports to the council.

The functions of the Law Society of Zimbabwe are specified in the Act and they include keeping registers of the names and addresses of registered legal practitioners, representing the views of the legal profession and maintaining its integrity and status, defining and enforcing the correct and uniform practice and discipline among legal practitioners and encouraging the study of law and jurisprudence and providing means of securing on the part of those seeking registration. 

Currently the Law Society is in the process of codifying the conduct of its members and implementing a new system of continuing legal education to improve the quality of services to clients.
The Law Society of Zimbabwe is similar in many respects to the Law Society of England   and Wales. It has also tasked itself with ensuring that the rule of law is respected and has been consistently published its criticism where the rule of law has been threatened or disregarded. This has led it into a collision course with the Executive, to an extent where a former president has been arrested on frivolous charges and its offices of searched. To a larger extent it has also become the guardian of human rights and the rule of law.
 

TheLawMap: What is the likely impact in terms of justice in the wake of cuts to the UK Legal Aid funding?

Cutting legal aid will obviously leave the vulnerable people struggling to find help. The cost of legal service in the United Kingdom is, without exception very high. Legal aid is an integral aspect of access to justice and an essential part of administration of justice in any democratic state. The proper administration of justice requires that access to justice must not be duly restricted by lack of resources to pay fees. In the absence of legal aid there is only justice for the rich, which by any imagination is undesirable.
Some lawyers are even at risk of losing their jobs, unless they start charging those indigent client fees or alternatively turning them away. There will be a long lasting undesirable impact. Withdrawing legal aid from cases such  matrimonial actions , child custody, clinical negligence, welfare, employment, immigration, housing, debt, benefit and education is ill timed and the poor will increasingly find it difficult to access justice. Many people will struggle to find the help they need because of reduced service. It will not be a surprise to see some people homeless as a result.

As a lawyer practicing in a country where legal aid is virtually nonexistent I foresee unpleasant consequences to vulnerable people and to the legal system itself. People who do not have access to justice are more likely to take law into their own hands through corrupt activities. The impact of legal aid cuts was either downplayed or underestimated.

The Law Map: How is the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its role seen in Zimbabwe and for that matter in Africa?

There is a disturbing escalating trend of lack of harmony between Africa and the International Criminal Court. The ICC is seen as a court that has entirely focused on Africa and has failed cast its net wider to other continents. Africa has the highest number of state parties to the Rome Statute and has played a fundamental role in firming up the Rome Statute system over the years; however the qualitative relationship between ICC and the African political sphere is pathetic.

The tension between Africa and the ICC is a result of the court’s particular focus on Africa. With such information one can easily allege bias. Contrary to the common baseless approach, the court’s interventions in Africa have been in fact supported by African states, for example the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Central African Republic and Mali where the situations were referred to the ICC by those states. There is a notable absence of effective domestic institutions and adequate resources to pursue investigation and prosecution of perpetrators of grave crime in all those states, whose criminal justice system is also unsatisfactory to a larger extent.

The use of this self referral mechanism by African states is on its own, demonstrative of voluntary submission to the jurisdiction of the ICC and a belief in its ability to exercise its mandate to fight impunity by the countries, where the ICC has intervened.

In situations where investigations were opened on the volition of the prosecutor, there was also support from African governments. In Kenya, where the current feud is focused on, the prosecutor was given evidence of crimes allegedly committed during 2007-08 post-election violence by an international commission established by the Kenyan government. It must be taken into account that an investigation was only formally opened after the Kenyan government failed to meet a deadline for starting its own prosecutions. The investigation in Ivory Coast was supported by the government, under the leadership of Laurent Gbagbo, which voluntarily accepted the court’s jurisdiction in 2003. The arguments of the court’s bias glaringly overlook the support that ICC gets from Africa.

In Darfur and Libya the ICC prosecutor was referred by the United Nations Security Council, with support from African states sitting at the time. The ICC only opened investigations where it was asked to, and where grave crimes were being committed. It has not sought cases in Africa. There is no reason why the prosecutor may not go where victims need justice. It is a fact that many ordinary Africans do not share the same views as their bigoted leaders who feel they are entitled to immunity from prosecution.

The shaky relationship between the ICC and AU is a cause for concern. The African leaders, through bodies such as the African Union and other regional organs need to view the Court not as a competitor in the exercise of justice but rather as an institution that can compliment them in fighting against impunity. The insecurity by the AU is largely as a result of the regional body’s failure to fight impunity and grave human rights violations on the African continent. The court’s intention is not to create antagonism, which has become an excuse for some African leaders whose hands are dirty. AU must focus on building a solid relationship with ICC rather than pointing a finger and raising frivolous issues.

ICC has a lot to do in terms of instilling confidence. The time has come for the court to spread its wings and focus on other states who have continued to act with impunity under its nose.

TheLawMap: If you had one wish to change something within the legal profession, what would it be?

My wish is to see a united legal profession sharing ideas and contributing to the development of law that will lead to a revered jurisprudence and quality legal services to clients.

With special thanks to Lawyer Nqobani Nyathi for his valuable time. 

Nqobani Nyathi is a young lawyer based in Bulawayo Zimbabwe. He is a registered legal practitioner, notary public and conveyancer, employed as a Centre Lawyer by Legal Resources Foundation Zimbabwe, a charitable and educational trust aimed at improving access to justice for the poor and marginalised. A very keen amateur photographer, his Instagram Gallery contains an interesting and often powerful, array of photographs  All pictures embedded within this interview itself were taken by Nyathi himself. His Twitter handle is @nqobani_nyathi