Quand la justice pénale internationale s’empare de la réconciliation nationale

Although the international criminal courts for the Former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda claim that their goal is to contribute to the restoration and the maintenance of peace, their mission originates in the laws of war. This genealogy reveals a shift in international criminal law’s missions. Combining « justice » and « peace », the international judges have added the notion of « national reconciliation » to their vocabulary without defining it. Thus to give a « fair sentence » judges are willing to consider the defendant’s efforts in favor of national reconciliation among the elements that they take into account as mitigating factors. Analyzing the judgments of the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and for the Rwanda, this article explores what is at stake when international criminal justice is faced with social requirements