International Crimes and Double Standards

Abstract The law’s aspiration to impartiality, central to its legitimacy, is impaired by concerns that judicial systems treat similarly situated persons or factual situations differently for improper reasons. In few fields is this truer than the sphere of international criminal justice, where the political stakes are high and judicial institutions are relatively young. The conflicts in Ukraine and Israel/Palestine have fuelled claims on all sides that the search for accountability has been marred by double standards. How these are addressed — by courts, states, and civil society — matters for the victims of grave crimes, and for the international justice project itself. This article argues that, while those who wish to advance international justice cannot eliminate double standards, they can adopt concrete measures to combat and minimize them. Given how important perceptions are in this debate, even small steps matter.