To inform international policy on the role of victims in international criminal trials, this paper seeks to demonstrate how the retributive dynamic that is ingrained in the foundation instruments and penal practices of international criminal courts and tribunals provides a significant impediment to a conceptualization of justice resonating with the needs and interests of the victims of international crimes and those communities implicated in breaches of international humanitarian law and human rights. The paper reflects on the role of victims in international criminal trials from a perspective that questions the legitimacy of international criminal justice for the victims and communities. The existing norms of access and rights are described and contextualized. In addition, it addresses the problem of legitimacy by suggesting ways in which the trial process can be reconceptualized and provide contexts where the moral relativity of justice can become reconciled. In conclusion, the paper argues that the comparative contextual analysis of victim participation in both local and global contexts can provide important insight into the dynamics of those trial relationships pivotal to trial outcomes and how judicial discretionary power can help to engage with victims’ demands for peace and reconciliation.