La justice pénale internationale a-t-elle un effet pacificateur ?

International criminal justice’s institutions, in particular the International Criminal Court and the ad hoc tribunals (ICTY and ICTR), not only have a punitive function, they also have a security function i.e. the ambition of having a pacifying effect and of fulfilling the Kantian project of achieving “peace through law”. But, do they have the means to do so? To what extent can they actually contribute towards peace? Do they have a deterrent effect? This paper shows that their contribution is limited at best and that judicial romanticism, i.e. holding unrealistic expectations of justice, has the perverse effect of harming its credibility and reducing its existing low likelihood of having a pacifying effect.