International Prosecutors as Cause Lawyers

This article contributes to the developing socio-legal perspectives on the practical realities, power dynamics, and external perceptions of international criminal law (ICL) by exploring the professional sense of self among international prosecutors. Drawing upon original interviews with ‘everyday’ practitioners, the article uses the prism of ‘cause lawyering’ — the practice of law primarily for a lawyer’s moral, political or ideological commitments — to illustrate the struggle between ICL’s legal professionals within Bourdieu’s concept of the juridical field. As a majoritarian practice among international prosecutors, cause lawyering evidences the position-taking of actors who look to assert their authority over and distinction from others within the field, while also exemplifying the strong correlation between professional role and personal identity. Identifying some of the consequences of cause lawyering for ICL, the article concludes by considering the broader implications of a relational study of the discipline’s legal professionals.