Constructions of justice and legitimacy: defence and prosecution discourses before international criminal courts

Programme group Transnational configurations, conflict and governance

This NWO funded research, considers how notions of justice and legitimacy are constructed in the course of trial proceedings, examining the discourses of both prosecutors and high profile accused persons.

NWO funded (NWO-thema Conflict en veiligheid)

Period: 01/09/2010 tot 31/07/2012 

The legitimacy of international criminal justice institutions is under attack from academics, civil society actors and third world leaders. Their survival may be jeopardised if they cannot convincingly respond to challenges to their legitimacy. Rather than juxtaposing ostensibly static 'international-legal' and 'ocal-cultural' understandings of justice, this project will consider how notions of justice and legitimacy are constructed in the course of trial proceedings, examining the discourses of both prosecutors and high-profile accused persons. It will compare these discourses in relation to the Karadzic and the Taylor case, with further reference to the Milosevic case and the 'virtual case' of Al-Bashir.

Published by  AISSR

25 April 2013