Research on transitional justice still lacks clear empirical and theoretical foundations at the moment. Despite the publication of recent quantitative surveys, findings on the effects of transitional justice mechanisms remain highly contradictory. This paper argues that the contradictory findings can be explained partly by the lack of accounting for third variables. In doing so, it focuses on international criminal trials, particularly those conducted in conflicts. In the scope of a cross-case and literature overview the contradictions in the current research on the effects of international trials are highlighted and the relation between international, retributive notions of justice and local, restorative notions of justice is introduced as an important third variable in the work of international tribunals.
The second part of the paper will highlight the interplay between international and local notions of justice with the help of case studies on the ICC investigations conducted in Darfur and northern Uganda. The case studies particularly focus on three important problems that emerge in the relationship between international and local notions of justice that will be introduced briefly here. First of all, the involvement of the ICC in conflict contexts can influence the course of transitional justice pursued in the country, particularly in the scope of the ICC’s complementarity system. This is especially true for cases in which formal, retributive justice mechanisms were scarcely applied in the past. Secondly, the case studies will show how local perceptions of justice have an influence on the impact of the investigations. Whether the investigations can garner support on the ground and whether they are seen as a significant contribution to justice by the victims depends to a large degree on the way the ICC relates to local needs and local notions of justice. The case studies will finally point out in how far questions of restorative and retributive justice become politicized by national actors, which in turn influences both the course of transitional justice as well as the impact of ICC investigations on the ground.
