More Than Just Victors' Justice: A Defense of the Solely Retributive Character of Atrocity Crime Punishment by International Criminal Tribunals

Abstract

Because atrocity crimes are sui generis, nothing other than the pursuit of retribution can justify their international prosecution. Other commonly given general justifying aims for punishment all fail -- to incapacitation, to denunciation, from rehabilitation, to deterrence, leaving retribution as the only plausible candidate. This failure presents a dilemma for the many who hold strong intuitions that war criminals should be punished but have a distaste for retribution. Either give up international tribunals as currently constituted as mechanisms for providing justice after atrocities or embrace their retributive character. [From introductory section]