International Criminal Justice & post conflict / Working Paper
Accountability and complementarity between courts
21/10/2008 By Mónica Martínez
The rising number of conflicts that have taken place around the world in the last half century, which have gone hand in hand with widespread violations of human rights, have led to the creation of international criminal tribunals and an increase in the number of cases heard under national systems of jurisprudence.
Getty Imag
Since the beginning of the 1990s, a new culture of accountability and defence of
human rights has increasingly been established, leaving less room for impunity in cases of crimes like genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and serious infractions of the Geneva Conventions. International will in favour of such a move serves to confirm the link between international systems of accountability and the maintenance of peace and security.
This Working Paper focuses on the differences and synergies that exist between the different national, international and third state processes that have been developed thus far. It emphasises the importance of an appropriate equilibrium between international standards of justice and rigour in penal processes and respect for national legislation and traditional justice systems. Such an equilibrium should serve to guarantee reconciliation and a sustainable peace process.
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Keywords
Civil society Peacebuilding Post conflict Transitional justiceRelated publications
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Bio author: Mónica Martínez
Mónica Martínez worked as Legal Officer within the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and as Consultant Expert on International Criminal Justice and Human Rights related issues. Since April 2008 she has been working as the Head of Rule of Law within the OSCE mission in Baku, Azerbaijan.
