Cost 360° is projet of 22 countries of the European Cooperation in science & technology (Cost institution)
Most research on atrocity crimes has been focused the international criminal courts and tribunals (ICTs). These institutions were created from the mid1990s to adjudicate criminal responsibility for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The ICT-centred perspective (that also pervades popular and political discourse) is problematic because it overlooks the larger space in which these courts exist. Global Atrocity Crimes Constellations (JUSTICE360) reverses the ICT-centred paradigm to focus instead on how ICTs are received in domestic contexts and how this reception shapes the space in which they work. Through this change of perspective, the Action constructs an unprecedented panoramic view on the global and cross-systemic impacts of international criminal justice.
Under this new paradigm, ICTs are seen as institutions working in larger global atrocity justice constellations. Such constellations are comprised especially of states, state institutions, civil society, and population at large. By conducting case studies in almost 40 countries representative of the larger global relations between states and ICTs, JUSTICE360 will build unique data on how such states perceive and handle international crimes, perpetrators and victims. This data will be built as a collective endeavour by an interdisciplinary research group representative of the countries selected for case studies. Through this unprecedented study of global atrocity justice constellations, JUSTICE360 will contribute highly original knowledge not only on how domestic systems have responded to international crimes, victims and perpetrators; but also how these responses have shaped and reshaped the space in which ICTs work and thus their effectiveness and potential for success