This essay examines the two existing international criminal tribunals, ICTY and ICTR, in comparison with the past military tribunals and the future International Criminal Court. In so doing, it attempts to locate them in the context of peace operations and assesses its merits and demerits for building peace in war-torn societies. After looking at the "harmonious," "adversarial," and "conditional" views on international criminal tribunals characterized as "judicial intervention," the essay emphasizes the importance and subtlety of the use of international criminal tribunals as part of peace operations. The strategies of the ad hoc tribunals are identified as "international legitimacy" and "international indictments." The inherent problem in "judicial intervention" is also discussed in terms of the conceptual orientation of "individualization" of conflicts.