Enhancing the legitimacy, status, and role of the international criminal court globally by using transitional justice and restorative justice strategies

Source: (2012) Interdisciplinary Journal of Human Rights Law. V.6:1 83-101

This article reviews the role of the International Criminal Court
(ICC) and argues that, beyond that of retributivej ustice, the court
ought to be playing a much greater deterrent role. It is argued
that the ICC ought to do this by integrating restorative justice or
transitional justice approaches into its work. If this is done the
ICC could have a more dramatic effect on the human rights
landscape in situations in many countries. The article argues that
the Court could, within the transitionalj ustice paradigm, affect
issues concerning truth, reparations, and reconciliation and,
within the restorative justice framework, play a restorative
function in countries, especially those where the court currently
has cases or is investigating cases to determine whether to issue
indictments. The ICC can set the standard for retributive justice
but it can also have a critical role beyond simply prosecuting the
few it is able to pursue. The Court should play its part in ensuring
that complementarity is a reality by helping with domestic
prosecutions, by assisting in the process of truth recovery, and by
taking other steps to assist states to implement transitional and
restorative justice processes.