Is International Criminal Justice “Model” Justice?

Come join author and AUP professor Kerstin Carlson in conversation with professors Susan Perry, Sharon Weill, Sara Dezalay and Omer Shatz as they discuss who is (and isn’t) on trial in international criminal courts, and how international criminal law is delivering on its promise to craft the ”more just world” that the International Criminal Court (ICC) proclaims in its lobby.

In her 2018 book Model(ing) Justice: Perfecting the Promise of International Criminal Law (Cambridge University Press), Carlson argues that development of international criminal jurisprudence reveals flaws in the doctrine that prevent it from enacting the progressive ideals that it promises. These ideals are financed by developed nations, but it is individuals in developing nations who are paying the price. Focusing on the ICTY and its impact in the former Yugoslavia, Model(ing) Justice traces the evolution of international criminal doctrine across the three functions deemed essential to achieving transitional justice for post-conflict states: progressive law; historical record; and reconciliatory narratives. Carlson shows how the push to create progressive law outcomes turns the legal processes themselves illiberal, which in turn impacts the capacity for international criminal courts to establish historical fact or societal reconciliation.

Carlson is joined by an all-star team of international lawyers and legal academics to debate what past practice suggests for the future direction of international criminal law:

• Sharon Weill, AUP, works on domesticating international law as well as French terrorism trials.
• Sara Dezalay, Cardiff University, works on the impact of globalisation on legal professions across Africa.
• Omer Shatz, Sciences Po & practicing attorney, was one of the two-lawyer team who filed a complaint before the ICC charging European leaders with crimes against humanity for their policies regarding migration in the Mediterranean.
• Susan Perry, AUP, is a human rights and digital technology specialist; she will moderate the discussion.