Transitional Justice and International Criminal Justice

This chapter explores the role of international criminal justice within the field of transitional justice. It provides a brief history of the growth of international criminal justice as a field of study and practice, focusing on the prototypical international criminal justice institutions. Next, it positions the field in relation to transitional justice and teases out some of the synergies as well as the tensions between the two related but often disconnected fields. It submits that a new landscape is emerging wherein domestic prosecutions are playing a greater role, complementing more traditional infrastructures. Networks of cooperation between international bodies, states and a variety of civil society actors are forming and opening new opportunities for accountability, which impacts directly on the field of transitional justice. The shape and success of the cooperation networks will play a central role in scholarship and practice in the years to come.