Dealing with war crimes in Bosnia: retributive and restorative options through the eyes of the population

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511974953.006

6 - Dealing with war crimes in Bosnia: retributive and restorative options through the eyes of the population

from PART 1 - International criminal justice

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2011

Stephan Parmentier and

Elmar Weitekamp

Edited by

Adam Crawford

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Stephan Parmentier: Affiliation:
University of Leuven's Institute of Criminology
Elmar Weitekamp: Affiliation:
University of Tübingen
Adam Crawford: Affiliation:
University of Leeds

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Summary

Introduction

The entry into force of the Rome Statute, on 1 July 2002, has been heralded by many observers as the final start of a new era, the era of international justice. The importance of the International Criminal Court (ICC) can indeed hardly be overstated. It is the first permanent international court in the world's history that is competent to judge individuals for having committed crimes in various parts of the globe. Some go even further and see it as the ultimate panacea that will not only react to crimes but also deter future crimes, promote reconciliation between former enemies and bring peace to the world. Both perspectives strongly rely on the ICC, and international criminal justice as a whole, as a new form of governance.

Notwithstanding the importance of the ICC and other institutions of criminal justice, some cautionary remarks seem warranted. First of all, the creation of the ICC is the result of a lengthy process that was far from linear, but was instead fraught with piecemeal changes and huge leaps, full of strange coincidences and even stranger alliances. This long and curving road to The Hague has displayed little coherence, let alone convergence, and it remains to be seen if and how convergence may come about.

Type: Chapter
Information: International and Comparative Criminal Justice and Urban Governance
Convergence and Divergence in Global, National and Local Settings
, pp. 140 - 167

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511974953.006 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2011

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