Punishment and the Role of the Prosecutor in International Criminal Trials

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the role of the Prosecutor as it relates to sentencing in international criminal trials. The approach is both jurisprudential and contextual in that the paper deliberately sets out to question the underlying rationale for the prosecutorial role within the broader context of the purposes for punishment. It examines especially how that role relates to the delivery of international trial justice and its broader significance for international criminal justice as a form of governance. International criminal justice is regarded as an important pillar of global governance and vital to the restoration of post-conflict societies. Yet, the critical principles which might drive international trial decision-making, particularly through the ICC, are dangerously under-developed. Bearing this in mind, a broader aim of this paper is to contribute to the debate about how to develop a more principled and constructive form of international sentencing. This is equally