This book is based on a meeting of experts that convened in July 2015 at Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin to discuss the issues surrounding the African Union’s Protocol aimed at vesting the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights with criminal jurisdiction. The meeting was organized by the South African-German Centre for Transnational Criminal Justice, which is run cooperatively by the Law Faculties of the University of the Western Cape and Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin. The editors would like to express their gratitude to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Federal Foreign Office for generously funding the centre in the framework of the “African Excellence” initiative. We would also like to express our thanks to Hanna Takeuchi and Rebecca van Es, who proofread the chapters, to Marshet Tadesse Tessema, who helped select the materials in the appendix to the book, and to Anna-Julia Egger and Nella Sayatz for formatting the chapters. While editing this book, South Africa and Burundi notified the Secretary General of the United Nations of their intention to withdraw from the Statute of the International Criminal Court. Other African states have expressed an intention to do similarly. It remains to be seen which impact this will have on the work of the International Criminal Court in Africa. It is clear, however, that alternative approaches to prosecute crimes under international law in Africa, including the creation of an “African Criminal Court”, will become increasingly important.