International Justice: From the Twilight to the Dawn? International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo at McGill University

Abstract

This article examines recent historical developments, in particular the establishment of the International Criminal Court, in light of Morgenthau’s The Twilight of International Morality. It suggests three scenarios for understanding the current trajectory of international morality: the false dawn, a superstructure of morality that serves as an apology for the exercise of raw power by liberal democracies; a reverie, a utopia dreamed up by idealists; and the dawn of international justice. The article contends that the third scenario, under which the ICC represents the dawn of international justice and demonstrates that a cosmopolitan international morality can exist, is the most credible despite the persistence of islands of outlawry.