Should Peace Be Built by Delivering Justice?: An Assessment of the Duty to Prosecute Crimes against International Law

Although in post-conflict settings there arises the question whether criminal prosecution must be compromised in the interest of peace consolidation, the international community today shows an increased commitment to apply judicial mechanisms to deal with the atrocities of the past. Current practices intend to release tension between peace consolidation and criminal justice objectives through a series of institutional innovations that aim at adjusting the parameters of post- conflict tribunals to the fragile local context. The main focus of this article is to provide an overview of how international law addresses the duty to prosecute and discuss key factors which influence how judicial mechanisms affect transitional justice processes in war-torn societies. Additionally, the article illustrates the contemporary practice in prosecuting crimes against international law on the basis of a case study on war crimes trials in post-conflict Kosovo. The assessment leads to the conclusion that hybrid models of judicial and non-judicial mechanisms prove to be the most suitable approach to reconcile criminal justice with the priorities of peace consolidation