International Justice: An Overview

The International Criminal Court
Translating Norms into Institutions

The last decade has seen an unparalleled drive to establish a norm of legal accountability for the most egregious violations of human rights. The international justice movement comprises governments, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as individual rule of law advocates worldwide, and aims to ensure that fair and consistent legal process is brought to bear on individuals responsible for crimes under international law.

In the system of international justice now emerging, the imperative for accountability finds its institutional form in the newly-established International Criminal Court (ICC), in the ad hoc tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, as well as in “hybrid” or “internationalized” processes such as the Special Court in Sierra Leone. These efforts are supplemented by national criminal justice systems exercising universal and other forms of jurisdiction, by more broadly-mandated commissions of inquiry (“truth and reconciliation commissions”) and by processes aimed at seeking redress through compensation for the victims of international crimes. While we stand at the early stages of these efforts, and face enormous difficulties, there is reason to hope that the development of international justice will reduce victimization, lessen conflict, and entrench the rule of law in the coming century.

The worldwide effort to establish an effective system of international justice is at a pivotal phase in its history. After a half-century of relative inactivity following the Nuremberg trials at the close of World War II, the pace of development in the area of international criminal law following the end of the Cold War has been unprecedented. The establishment of international criminal tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the negotiation and entry into force of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and action by domestic and “hybrid” courts have all lent substance and credibility to the assertion that the most grievous human rights crimes are subject to international scrutiny and legal action. As a result, international criminal law is poised to become a more effective legal reality, and to make a sustained contribution to lessening the conduct and the frequency of armed conflict around the world.

This emerging system of international justice is, and needs to be, global in its reach, although it manifests itself differently in different regions and countries. Countries undergoing or emerging from armed conflict, or suffering major systematic human rights abuses, give rise to the most glaring need for accountability processes. Regrettably, it is often Africa, and the complex conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and elsewhere, that first come to mind; nonetheless, conflicts continue in the Middle East, Central and South Asia, the South Pacific and Latin America (notably Colombia). In addition, a wide array of countries (including Argentina, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Sierra Leone, the former Yugoslavia and others) continue to live with the legacy of past conflict. In such conflict or post-conflict societies, international criminal law is part of a broad matrix of developmental processes—political, economic and social—aimed at establishing peace and building stable and open societies based on the rule of law and democracy.

But this is not to imply that international justice has no role to play in more stable countries. On the contrary, the forces of globalization draw countries from all over the world into conflicts in one way or another, and crimes such as torture and some war crimes are committed by individuals from all societies. And crucially, it is these countries—in particular the developed ones—that can provide important financial and political support for international justice efforts, that can support enforcement and deterrence through their peacekeeping personnel and other aspects of their foreign policy, and that become destinations for the immigration of both abusers and their victims. These countries are finding it necessary to train and discipline their military and peacekeeping personnel in international humanitarian law, to apply their legal processes to international crimes committed by individuals found within their jurisdiction, and to be seen to respond to atrocities taking place elsewhere. Moreover, the support of states from every region is necessary to ensure both the legitimacy and effectiveness of institutions such as the ICC. The needs for education and mobilization, for law reform and legal action, are truly global, even if the conflicts that give rise to the most flagrant breaches of international criminal law are today restricted geographically and numerically.

The Justice Initiative’s International Justice Program focuses on:

• The strengthening of national systems’ ability to contribute to accountability for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, including through the widespread ratification and implementation into national law of the Rome Statute for the ICC.
• Assisting in the referral to the ICC Prosecutor of credible, well-documented instances of crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the Court.
• The mobilization, training, support and coordination of civil society in advancing international justice, including through the informational and educational activities of the Justice Initiative.
• In addition, as an integral part of at least the present phase of international justice, “hybrid” or “internationalized” tribunals such as the Special Court in Sierra Leone.