Darfur and the Limits of Legal Deterrence

The Darfur referral to the International Criminal Court demonstrates the limits of international criminal justice as an agent of wartime deterrence evident in the experience of the ICTY in Bosnia. First, international tribunals cannot deter criminal violence as long as states and international institutions are unwilling to take enforcement actions against perpetrators. Second, the key to ending impunity in an ongoing war lies less in legal deterrence than in political strategies of diplomacy, coercion, or force. Third, the contribution of criminal justice in aftermath of mass atrocity is dependent on which strategies are used to put it to an end.