Aims of international prosecution : deterrence and International Criminal Court

Abstract

International community while establishing international mechanisms to prosecute and punish perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide assumed that international prosecution would have a deterrent effect on potential perpetrators. Thus, this thesis aims to analyze the extent of contribution by international justice mechanisms to the prevention of grave human rights violations in an ongoing conflict. In other words, this thesis tries to figure out whether the predetermined purpose of deterring future crimes is realized or not by international criminal courts. After examining the scope of international criminal justice system and deterrence theory in criminology literature, a discussion on the applicability of deterrence theory to the international context is provided. The main argument of this thesis is that if an international criminal court gets actively involved in a conflict, it would have deterrent effect on potential perpetrators. In order to test this hypothesis a case study on the conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo and the involvement of International Criminal Court is conducted.