International Punishment from 'Other' Perspectives, in Research Handbook on the International Penal System (Róisín Mulgrew & Denis Abels eds., 2016)

When it comes to punishment, international criminal courts and tribunals predominantly turn to imprisonment. While courtrooms are iconically used to prosecute suspects, jailhouses are reflexively deployed to sanction and discipline. To be sure, contemporary international criminal courts and tribunals can award restitutionary remedies (i.e. return to victims of property, proceeds, and assets acquired directly or indirectly from the convict’s criminal conduct), forfeiture, and fines. In practice, however, these possibilities remain spectral at best. Restitution, fines, and forfeiture, moreover, can only be awarded in addition to imprisonment. Reparations are also a possibility in some instances. For example, the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV)–established by the ICC–has begun to support reparations projects (notably, through collective grants funded by donor States).