The entry into force of the Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights (hereinafter the Malabo Protocol) will imply the activation of the International Criminal Law Section of the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights, along with the new crimes there included — among them, the crime of unconstitutional change of government. While the African Union (AU)’s concern over these changes of government is understandable, the criminalization of them raises several doubts. First, the lack of precision in the wording makes it difficult for both judges and individuals to know what is prohibited and what is not. This, along with the AU’s approach to popular uprisings, entails a serious risk for the Criminal Section of the Court to be used in accordance with political considerations of the regional organization. Finally, the combination of the crime with the immunity clause, also contained in the Protocol, greatly impedes the achievement of the criminalization’s goal.

中文翻译：

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违宪更迭政府罪

《关于修正非洲法院规约与人权议定书的议定书》（以下简称《马拉博议定书》）的生效将意味着非洲法院和人类和人民国际刑法科的启动’ 权利，连同其中的新罪行——其中包括违宪更迭政府罪。虽然非洲联盟 (AU) 对这些政府更迭的担忧是可以理解的，但将其定为犯罪却引发了一些疑问。首先，措辞不准确，使法官和个人都很难知道什么是禁止的，什么是禁止的。这一点，连同非盟对民众起义的处理方式，根据区域组织的政治考虑，使用法院刑事科会带来严重风险。最后，同样包含在议定书中的犯罪与豁免条款的结合极大地阻碍了刑事定罪目标的实现。