Selon la lecture classique du principe de complémentarité, le Statut de Rome confère à la CPI une fonction purement supplétive : elle n’a vocation à intervenir que si l’ordre juridique national, ayant la compétence prioritaire sur le crime international, est défaillant. La présente thèse part de l’insuffisance de cette lecture et propose d’élargir la définition de la complémentarité pour la fonder sur l’idée d’interaction et de partenariat des ordres juridiques international et national, et, ce faisant, plaide pour une reconstruction de la justice pénale internationale s’appuyant sur une nouvelle répartition du contentieux des crimes internationaux à la fois légitime et efficace. À cette fin, dans l’ordre international, l’auteur préconise, d’un côté, d’instaurer une primauté sélective de la CPI pour les hauts dirigeants étatiques ayant conçu et dirigé le dessein criminel, et d’un autre côté, pour le contentieux ne concernant pas ces auteurs, d’impulser une nouvelle dynamique de complémentarité qui permettrait d’associer l’État à la procédure menée par la CPI, grâce à une dissociation des phases du procès (dissociation enquête/poursuite ou jugement sur la culpabilité/prononcé de la peine). Dans l’ordre étatique, il conviendrait de renforcer la mise en œuvre de deux perspectives conjointes : d’une part, devrait être confortée la restauration de la paix sociale grâce à des commissions de vérité inspirées de la théorie de justice restaurative ; d’autre part, devraient être diversifiés les mécanismes de lutte contre l’impunité consistant à recourir à la justice accélérée (plaidoyers de culpabilité, pratiques ancestrales) ainsi qu’à la technique des juridictions hybrides. / According to the traditional understanding of the principle of complementarity, the Rome Statute gives the ICC a purely auxiliary function: it should intervene only if the national judicial system, which enjoys jurisdictional priority to prosecute international crimes, has failed. The thesis draws away from this unsatisfactory reading. It suggests expanding the definition of complementarity to base it on the concept of interaction and partnership between the international and the national legal orders. In doing so the thesis calls for a new distribution of international criminal cases that would be both legitimate and effective. It would be the foundation to rebuild international criminal justice. To this end, at the international level, the author recommends to establish the selective primacy of the ICC to prosecute senior state leaders who conceived and directed the criminal plan, whereas new dynamics of complementarity are suggested to judge the other perpetrators. It would involve the State in the proceedings conducted by the ICC, by dividing the stages of the trial (dissociation of the investigation/prosecution or judgment/sentencing). At the national level, the author recommends to strengthen two joint approaches. On the one hand, the restoration of social peace should be strengthened through truth commissions inspired by the restorative justice theory. On the other hand, the diversity of the mechanisms to fight impunity such as expeditious procedures (guilty pleas, traditional practices) and the use of hybrid courts should be fostered.

Depuis son apparition, il y a une trentaine d’années, la justice transitionnelle a connu un développement impressionnant. Elle est passée d’un domaine connu des seuls experts à une pratique généralisée pour les sociétés sortant de conflits, et est désormais considérée comme « normalisée ». Pourtant, l’action de son principal promoteur, l’Organisation des Nations Unies, demeure étonnement peu étudiée dans sa globalité et est, en conséquence, méconnue. La complexité du fonctionnement de l’ONU, organisation aux multiples organes, institutions, programmes, départements et fonds, ne facilite pas l’étude de son action. Celle-ci est d’autant plus compliquée si l’on considère l’absence de définition claire dont souffre toujours la justicetransitionnelle. La question peut alors être posée de l’existence d’une justice transitionnelle onusienne. L’Organisation est-elle parvenue à adopter une approche unifiée ? A-t-elle réussi à l’appliquer de façon cohérente ? Ces questions ne peuvent recevoir une réponse que par le biais d’une étude globale et systématique de l’action de l’ONU dans le domaine de la justice transitionnelle. / Transitional justice has experienced an impressive growth since its inception, more than thirty years ago. It has evolved from a field known only by experts to a common practice for post-conflict societies. It is now considered “normalised”. Still, the action of its main promoter, the United Nations, remains surprisingly under-studied. Never has it truly been considered in its entirety. The UN action in the field of transitional justice thus remains illknown. It is true that the highly complex structure of the United Nations, comprising numerous organs, institutions, funds, programmes and departments, does not make its study an easy task. The latter is rendered even harder by the equal complexity of transitional justice, a notion still not benefitting from a clear definition. The sheer existence of a United Nations’ transitional justice may be questioned. Has the Organisation managed to adopt aunified approach ? Does it succeed in applying it in a coherent fashion ? These questions may only find answers through a global and systematic study of the UN’s action in the field of transitional justice.

O presente trabalho busca analisar criticamente a atual conformação da justiça penal internacional, identificando as principais dificuldades que enfrenta e propondo uma nova direção que possa servir a mitigar esses problemas e a atingir os fins que declara ter como objetivo. Segundo se pretendeu demonstrar nesta tese, a atual condição da justiça penal internacional, que evoluiu substancialmente no pós-Guerra Fria em conjunto com a proteção internacional dos direitos humanos, constitui-se sobre uma proposta unicamente repressiva. Esse modelo se manifesta no combate aos crimes universais pela priorização da atuação de tribunais penais internacionais e pela definição internacional de padrões obrigatórios a serem seguidos pelos Estados. Todavia, essa proposta padece de diversas dificuldades que podem ser resumidas em dois aspectos principais: tanto na sua incapacidade de se fazer executar, o que lhe retira a independência que se espera de um sistema judicial, quanto na sua indefinição quanto aos fins que persegue. Dessa forma, conclui-se que a aplicação da pena, no plano internacional, é um exercício político que demanda, portanto, limitação. Além disso, como resposta aos graves efeitos dos crimes universais, a justiça penal internacional precisa ser repensada segundo uma proposta também prospectiva que, aliada à repressão, possa servir à evitação de crimes universais e à garantia da paz e dos direitos humanos. Essa proposta é o que se denomina de política criminal universal. / This study aims to critically analyze the current conformation of international criminal justice, identifying the main difficulties that it faces and proposing a new direction that may serve to mitigate these problems and allow the achievement of the goals purposed by states in international arena. According to this thesis, the current status of the international criminal justice, which has evolved substantially in the post-Cold War together with the international protection of human rights, is based on a solely repressive proposal. This model manifests itself, regarding the combat of universal crimes, by priorizing the creation of international criminal courts and through the definition of international standards that are compulsory to States. However, this proposal suffers from several difficulties which can be summarized in two major points: its incapacity to enforce itself, which may endanger the essential independence required from a judicial system, and its inability in deciding its own goals. Thus, it is possible to conclude that the international imposition of a criminal sentence is a dangerous political exercise that demands limitation. Furthermore, in response to the serious effects of universal crimes, international criminal justice needs to be rethought according to a proposal that is also prospective, which, coupled with repression, can serve to the prevention of universal crimes and to ensure universal peace and human rights. This proposal is what is called a universal criminal policy.

This thesis examines how the promise and institutionalization of 'justice for victims' has shaped the ICC's justice vision and identity. Drawing on interviews with 90 practitioners in The Hague, Kenya and Uganda, it undertakes a sociological and institutional analysis of how 'justice for victims' has evolved in the Court's first two decades through the definitions and redefinitions, pushes and pulls, strategies and miscalculations of the Court's diverse actors both in The Hague and in the field. It argues that the introduction of 'justice for victims' has led to a rift within the Court between those who embrace a narrow understanding of justice as 'fair trials' and those who see the ICC as an opening for broader justice processes. These rifts and gaps are reinforced by the Court's actors in the field such as victims' lawyers and intermediaries who sometimes assume political advocacy roles beyond what the Court's judges envisaged or follow their parochial interests on the ground. While the ICC's judges have increasingly curtailed victim participation and reparation in the court room, the Court's practices on the ground reflect an uneasy fusion of legal justice, development, local and national politics with a proliferation of new justice concepts including 'transformative justice' and 'gender justice'. So far, these justice contestations have not chipped away, much less undermined, the Court's legitimacy. Rather, the Court has thrived on its justice contradictions; its failure to commit to any particular justice vision while loosely relating to all possible visions, has made the Court impervious to critique. But the thesis will also show that 'justice for victims' at the ICC is schizophrenic: it is inherently unstable and its contradictory dynamics may at some point rip the concept apart - and with it the Court's legitimacy.

O presente trabalho busca analisar criticamente a atual conformação da justiça penal internacional, identificando as principais dificuldades que enfrenta e propondo uma nova direção que possa servir a mitigar esses problemas e a atingir os fins que declara ter como objetivo. Segundo se pretendeu demonstrar nesta tese, a atual condição da justiça penal internacional, que evoluiu substancialmente no pós-Guerra Fria em conjunto com a proteção internacional dos direitos humanos, constitui-se sobre uma proposta unicamente repressiva. Esse modelo se manifesta no combate aos crimes universais pela priorização da atuação de tribunais penais internacionais e pela definição internacional de padrões obrigatórios a serem seguidos pelos Estados. Todavia, essa proposta padece de diversas dificuldades que podem ser resumidas em dois aspectos principais: tanto na sua incapacidade de se fazer executar, o que lhe retira a independência que se espera de um sistema judicial, quanto na sua indefinição quanto aos fins que persegue. Dessa forma, conclui-se que a aplicação da pena, no plano internacional, é um exercício político que demanda, portanto, limitação. Além disso, como resposta aos graves efeitos dos crimes universais, a justiça penal internacional precisa ser repensada segundo uma proposta também prospectiva que, aliada à repressão, possa servir à evitação de crimes universais e à garantia da paz e dos direitos humanos. Essa proposta é o que se denomina de política criminal universal. / This study aims to critically analyze the current conformation of international criminal justice, identifying the main difficulties that it faces and proposing a new direction that may serve to mitigate these problems and allow the achievement of the goals purposed by states in international arena. According to this thesis, the current status of the international criminal justice, which has evolved substantially in the post-Cold War together with the international protection of human rights, is based on a solely repressive proposal. This model manifests itself, regarding the combat of universal crimes, by priorizing the creation of international criminal courts and through the definition of international standards that are compulsory to States. However, this proposal suffers from several difficulties which can be summarized in two major points: its incapacity to enforce itself, which may endanger the essential independence required from a judicial system, and its inability in deciding its own goals. Thus, it is possible to conclude that the international imposition of a criminal sentence is a dangerous political exercise that demands limitation. Furthermore, in response to the serious effects of universal crimes, international criminal justice needs to be rethought according to a proposal that is also prospective, which, coupled with repression, can serve to the prevention of universal crimes and to ensure universal peace and human rights. This proposal is what is called a universal criminal policy.

Over the years, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has received criticism for exercising its territorial jurisdiction over non-state parties’ nationals. Non-state parties claim that the Court is illegitimate and that its jurisdictional claim over their nationals violates the principle of consent in public international law. This thesis aims to develop interdisciplinary research into international relations and international law by asking the question of how the alleged legitimacy deficit of the ICC can be alleviated. The interdisciplinary methodology is approached through supplementing the legal dogmatic method with international relations theory. In turn, the analysis is carried out in two sections, one dedicated to legal analysis and the other to the international relations theory constructivism. The main finding of legal analysis is that the ICC’s jurisdictional claim over non-state parties is in most cases fully in line with the principle of consent. The analysis finds that the main solution to the legitimacy deficit is that the Court should make an effort to employ its secondary and tertiary sources of law in its interpretation. Both the legal analysis and constructivist theory point to the ICC needing to be more persuasive. The ICC and its allies should create new understandings about it through norm transformation. This norm transformation will take the form of legal persuasion as well as diplomatic and political pressure. In regard to the interdisciplinary research agenda, this inquiry demonstrates that interdisciplinary researchers can tap into the legal discipline and its methodology by embracing legal formalism. Such use of the legal discipline will also allow for constructivists to learn from legal scholars about persuasion and norm systematisation.

No description available.

Transitional justice has undergone tremendous shifts since it was first used in Latin American and Eastern European countries to address post-authoritarian and post-communist legacies of atrocity and repression. In particular, the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has increased the demand for prosecutions within a field that was previously marked by compromise and non-prosecution. While there are increasing expectations that countries with unresolved claims of human rights abuses should enact transitional justice policies, most of the literature on the subject largely omits to explain how elites from those countries choose among the possible options of transitional justice, and specifically, how they choose among international prosecutions, domestic prosecutions, and truth-seeking. Using case studies of Kenya and Uganda, this dissertation examines this decision-making process to understand how elites choose and reject different transitional justice policies. Theoretically, the research examines how preferences for transitional justice policies are constituted through “judicial statecraft”: the strategic efforts by heterogeneous, interest-pursuing elites to use justice-related policies as carrots and sticks in the overall contestation of power. The research finds that the choices of elites about judicial statecraft depend on three factors: the extent to which the elites are secure that their policy choices cannot be subverted from within; the cost and credibility of transitional justice threats; and the effects, both intended and unintended, of history.

Les violations aux droits humains causent des milliers de victimes chaque année, des mécanismes de justice sont élaborés afin de répondre à ces crimes, mais les victimes demeurent peu consultées. Par le biais d’entretiens semi-directifs, cette étude présente le point de vue et les attentes des victimes de crimes contre l’humanité du Cambodge et du Rwanda sur la justice. La justice sociale constitue le cadre théorique de cette étude. Les résultats montrent que la justice pénale est centrale à la définition de la justice. La réparation et la vérité en constituent aussi les éléments essentiels. Toutefois, la capacité des tribunaux à rendre compte de la vérité est critiquée par les répondants créant un écart entre ce qu’elles veulent et ce qu’elles obtiennent. La qualité de la prise de décision et du traitement interpersonnel favorise aussi la perception de justice du point de vue des victimes. Les différentes composantes de la justice perçues, comme la punition, la réparation et la procédure, varient toutefois en fonction du contexte social et historique de la victimisation. / Human rights violations cause thousands of victims every year. Justice mechanisms, such as the International Criminal Court, have been developed to respond to these crimes, but victims remain under consulted. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with Rwandan and Cambodian victims of crimes against humanity. Using social justice theories as a theoretical framework, this study examines victims’ perceptions of justice. The results show that while criminal justice is central in victims’ definition of justice, reparation and truth also are essential components. However, the criminal court’s ability to achieve truth is criticized by respondents creating a gap between the truth that they seek and the truth that they obtain. The quality of decision-making as well as how victims are treated also contribute to victims’ perception of justice. However, victims’ justice objectives vary according to the social and historic context.

Les violations aux droits humains causent des milliers de victimes chaque année, des mécanismes de justice sont élaborés afin de répondre à ces crimes, mais les victimes demeurent peu consultées. Par le biais d’entretiens semi-directifs, cette étude présente le point de vue et les attentes des victimes de crimes contre l’humanité du Cambodge et du Rwanda sur la justice. La justice sociale constitue le cadre théorique de cette étude. Les résultats montrent que la justice pénale est centrale à la définition de la justice. La réparation et la vérité en constituent aussi les éléments essentiels. Toutefois, la capacité des tribunaux à rendre compte de la vérité est critiquée par les répondants créant un écart entre ce qu’elles veulent et ce qu’elles obtiennent. La qualité de la prise de décision et du traitement interpersonnel favorise aussi la perception de justice du point de vue des victimes. Les différentes composantes de la justice perçues, comme la punition, la réparation et la procédure, varient toutefois en fonction du contexte social et historique de la victimisation. / Human rights violations cause thousands of victims every year. Justice mechanisms, such as the International Criminal Court, have been developed to respond to these crimes, but victims remain under consulted. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with Rwandan and Cambodian victims of crimes against humanity. Using social justice theories as a theoretical framework, this study examines victims’ perceptions of justice. The results show that while criminal justice is central in victims’ definition of justice, reparation and truth also are essential components. However, the criminal court’s ability to achieve truth is criticized by respondents creating a gap between the truth that they seek and the truth that they obtain. The quality of decision-making as well as how victims are treated also contribute to victims’ perception of justice. However, victims’ justice objectives vary according to the social and historic context.