ABSTRACT
There is no doubt that the influence of the human rights paradigm on the domestic legal systems of western liberal democracies in the late twentieth century has been substantial. These forces have correspondingly informed the debates and substantive content of the foundation instruments of more recently created international criminal trial institutions such as the ICTY, ICTR and the ICC (Findlay, 2002). However, as suggested, the rules and procedures to support and develop international criminal law and sentencing have been driven in equal measure by multinational political imperatives (Dennis, 1997). As discussed, this paradox raises some fundamental questions about the true nature of the justifications which form the basis for rationalising the ‘justice’ of punishment in international sentencing decisions and, more specifically, the conceptualisation and role for human rights envisaged within this context. It is the latter which provides the focus for this chapter.
