Conclusion

Abstract

The lofty idea of international justice, with its institutions of international criminal adjudication, faces challenges in relation to the legitimacy of its means of seeking fact, which follows from the nature of international political and legal structures. If national criminal justice systems receive their legitimacy from the unquestionable authority of the states themselves, international criminal justice is a product of a fragmentised, participatory model of international legal order—its law is based, at least in theory, on custom and respect rather than on any coercive authority. In this light, international criminal justice is expected to justify its high mission by rendering decisions based on fact-finding methods that command respect and thus validate themselves.