Views on the ground : the local perception of international criminal tribunals in the former Yoguslavia and Sierra Leone
By: ARZT, Donna E
.
Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: Thousand Oaks : SAGE, January 2006The Annals of The American Academy of Political and Social Science 603, p. 226-239Abstract: If international criminal courts are to achieve their aimsone of which is to contribute to the consolidation of democracy and the triumph of the rule of law over the instinct for revenge after prolonged periods of communal violenceperception of their legitimacy by the local population is a crucial factor. After laying out and comparing the basic features of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the Special Court for Sierra Leone as to their respective origins, objectives, and programs of outreach, the article examines local reception from three standpoints: perceptions of overall legitimacy, perceptions of tribunal impartiality, and the effect of public perceptions of the tribunals on the respective countries' reconciliation process.
If international criminal courts are to achieve their aimsone of which is to contribute to the consolidation of democracy and the triumph of the rule of law over the instinct for revenge after prolonged periods of communal violenceperception of their legitimacy by the local population is a crucial factor. After laying out and comparing the basic features of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the Special Court for Sierra Leone as to their respective origins, objectives, and programs of outreach, the article examines local reception from three standpoints: perceptions of overall legitimacy, perceptions of tribunal impartiality, and the effect of public perceptions of the tribunals on the respective countries' reconciliation process.
Click on an image to view it in the image viewer
There are no comments for this item.