Quest for Purpose

Abstract

The stated values of the punishment of extraordinary international criminals principally are retribution, deterrence, and expressivism. In this chapter, I consider whether extant sentencing modalities at the local, national, and international levels attain these aspirations. I conclude that, although these modalities go some way to meet retributive and deterrent goals, they fall well short of operationalizing these goals in any meaningful sense. Extant modalities experience greater, albeit still limited, success in attaining expressive goals. At the outset, it is important to underscore that the three theories of punishment discussed here are not mutually exclusive. Despite the potential for tensions among these theories, courts often refer to them overlappingly when it comes to punishing a single defendant. This creates some tautness insofar as the goals of deterrence (to punish to prevent future crime) at times may conflict with those of retribution (to punish because the criminal deserves it). On the other hand, this overlap also may generate synergies. For example, retribution may have some positive utilitarian effect in deterring violence by discouraging vigilantism among the general public during periods of political transition. That said, the French prosecution of 100,000 collaborators following liberation from the Nazis did not quash vigilantism, insofar as thousands of individuals believed to be collaborators were privately killed. Furthermore, despite the existence of the ICTY, Kosovo Albanians carried out “revenge killings” against Serbs in 1999 following NATO's Operation Allied Force; despite the existence of the ICTR, the RPF committed violent reprisals against Hutus.