The mixed experience of international criminal courts. The limits of international criminal justice
– Abstract
The International Criminal Courts (ICCs) for ex-Yugoslavia and Rwanda’s upcoming interruption of activity summons a critical assessment of these two ad hoc jurisdictions. The partisans and actors of these two Courts considered that the latter had a two-fold reason for being. First, justice had to be done regarding the two specific occasions those ICCs had been created for. Then, the two jurisdictions had to foretell the consecration of international criminal justice as a decisive tool for regulating international society. The work accomplished by the two ICCs proves to be very imperfect, regarding immediate objectives as well as rather medium-term ambitions. Experience emphasizes the difficult, if not impossible, conciliation of criminal justice and international politics.
