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11 - A Step Back to Take a Step Forward

The Future of Justice in Conflict

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2024

By
Mark Kersten
Edited by
Matt Killingsworth  and
Tim McCormack
Matt Killingsworth
Affiliation:
University of Tasmania
Tim McCormack
Affiliation:
University of Tasmania
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Summary

The creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a game changer in the relationship between conflict resolution and the pursuit of accountability for mass atrocities. No longer must wars end before international criminal justice is pursued. But the ICC’s forays into situations of ongoing hostilities have not been kind to perceptions of the Court’s role in contributing to peace or in-conflict accountability. Twenty years after its creation, there are signs that the ICC is increasingly reluctant to target individuals engaged in ongoing wars. This chapter illustrates how perceptions of the ICC have been undermined by its forays into active conflicts and how this has resulted in an apparent reluctance to pursue active belligerents. Reflecting on the future of justice in conflict, it also examines what the Court can do to ameliorate perceptions of its impacts on peace and how to build stronger cases against alleged perpetrators involved in active wars.

Keywords

international criminal lawInternational Criminal Courtconflict resolutionpeace negotiationsinternational law
Type
Chapter
Information
Civility, Barbarism and the Evolution of International Humanitarian Law
Who do the Laws of War Protect?
 , pp. 218 - 242
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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