While justice mechanisms are primarily concerned with assigning responsibility for crimes already committed, the potential of such mechanisms to deter the future commission of crimes has been widely accepted. As principles of international criminal law continue to develop, the impact of international justice mechanisms on the prevention of atrocities will likely also increase. This chapter will explore the limited historical context of the concept of prevention in international law and discern potential conditions more conducive to the preventative capacity of justice. Looking at recent trends in international practice, the chapter seeks to highlight the ways in which various mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court, have preventative effects, focusing particularly on the tool of complementarity.

Introduction

The international community has chosen to uphold the principles of justice in response to genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and has decided that this should be done through the most advanced principles of fair trial in criminal proceedings. The international community has also established that states are under an obligation to prevent those crimes and that such a duty will be achieved in large measure by investigating, prosecuting and punishing the perpetrators. The purpose of this chapter is to present this idea in its short historical context and analyse the conditions required for successful implementation. It will look at the conditions necessary for justice to serve the cause of prevention in both specific and general ways. Some examples from ad hoc international tribunals and the International Criminal Court will be used to present the conditions under which international justice effectively deters massive crimes.