About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

60 Harv. Int'l L.J. 1 (2019)
Do Alternative Justice Mechanisms Deserve Recognition in International Criminal Law: Truth Commissions, Amnesties, and Complementarity at the International Criminal Court

handle is hein.journals/hilj60 and id is 4 raw text is: VOLUME 60, NUMBER 1, WINTER 2019 Do Alternative Justice Mechanisms Deserve Recognition in International Criminal Law?: Truth Commissions, Amnesties, and Complementarity at the International Criminal Court Martha Minow* In the aftermath of crimes against humanity and gross violations of human rights, should interna- tional legal institutions promote the use of criminal sanctions or instead support forgiveness and reconcilia- tion Either response is better than sience, but comparing prosecutions and reconciliatory steps brings tough choices, both legally and politill. Adversarial criminal prosecution holds the promise of generating facts, holding individuas accountab, and deterring future horrific conduct, but criminal trials ao can be time-consuming, expensive, inevitably slective, remote in time and location from the lives of those most affected, and indiffrent to the goals of social peace and personal healing. Truth and reconciliation com- missions, exemplified by South Africa's effort follouing th end of Apartheid, represent an alternative justice mechanism that pursues truth-telling and opportunities for reconciliation, rather than punishment. Such methods can provide occasions for individual wi rongdoers to apologize, and for victims and survivors to forgive, but these methods can also b marred by corruption, compromise, and an appearance of condoning terrible acts. Trading truth for punishment m(y offer a predicate for social reconciliation, but unondi- tional amnesties following terrible vioence-and pardons following flawed trias-slikdy signal political pressures to sacrifice justice. The choice among approaches is left open in the design of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which seeks to encourage domestic legal systems to pursue international crimes against humanity, genocide, and other gross violations of human rights within their national justice systems. Through its notion of complementarity, the ICC setks to localize international norms through a relationship between domestic courts and a permanent Court with potential jurisdiction across the world; the ICC actually loses its authority to proceed when the domestic jurisdiction does so in an adequate way. To set the standards for international justicea nd to build capacity to pursue justice in nations where mass violnce occurs- should the international institution treat truth commissions, grants ofamnesty, and other alternatives to prosecution as satisfying the predicate of national action that in turn deprives the ICC of authority to proceed. This A rticle analyzes the debates around alternatives to trials in fulfilling complementarity and advances recognition of some domestic restorative justice processes under specified criteria. Th issues this Article explores have implications not only for international criminal justice but also for alternatives to adjudication in national and local responses to any criminal conduct. * 300th Anniversary University Professor, Harvard University. This work could not have been writ- ten without the help and guidance of Daniel Saver. Lara Berlin, Alyssa Bernstein, Marissa Brodney, Jon Gould, Gerard Kennedy, Zoe Brennan-Krohn, Ariel Eckblad, Jessica Levin, Christopher Marks, Sonia McNeil, Dalia Palombo, Jason Qu, Alex Rodney, Cristina Ros, and Jeanne Segil also contributed valua- ble research and comments. Special thanks to Christopher Hampson, Sharon Kim, and Rachel Keeler for editorial assistance.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most