International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia
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The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the
Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...
and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal was an ''
ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with '' a priori''.) C ...
'' court located in
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
,
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. It was established by Resolution 827 of the
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
, which was passed on 25 May 1993. It had
jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...
over four clusters of crimes committed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991: grave breaches of the
Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conve ...
, violations of the laws or customs of war,
genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...
, and crimes against humanity. The maximum sentence that it could impose was life imprisonment. Various countries signed agreements with the UN to carry out
custodial sentence A custodial sentence is a judicial sentence, imposing a punishment consisting of mandatory custody of the convict, either in prison or in some other closed therapeutic or educational institution, such as a reformatory, (maximum security) psychia ...
s. A total of 161 persons were indicted; the final indictments were issued in December 2004, the last of which were confirmed and unsealed in the spring of 2005. The final fugitive,
Goran Hadžić Goran Hadžić ( sr-cyrl, Горан Хаџић, ; 7 September 1958 – 12 July 2016) was a war criminal and a nationalist politician of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina, in office during the Croatian War of Independence. He was ...
, was arrested on 20 July 2011.Serbia's last war crimes fugitive arrested
Al Jazeera.net, 20 July 2011.
The final judgment was issued on 29 November 2017 and the institution formally ceased to exist on 31 December 2017. Residual functions of the ICTY, including oversight of sentences and consideration of any appeal proceedings initiated since 1 July 2013, are under the jurisdiction of a successor body, the
International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, also referred to as the IRMCT or the Mechanism, is an international court established by the United Nations Security Council in 2010 to perform the remaining functions of the Internati ...
(IRMCT).


History


Creation

United Nations Security Council Resolution 808 United Nations Security Council resolution 808, adopted unanimously on 22 February 1993, after reaffirming Resolution 713 (1991) and subsequent resolutions on the situation in former Yugoslavia, including resolutions 764 (1992), 771 (1992) and 7 ...
of 22 February 1993 decided that "an international tribunal shall be established for the prosecution of persons responsible for serious violations of
international humanitarian law International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict, is the law that regulates the conduct of war ('' jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by pro ...
committed in the territory of the former
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
since 1991", and called on the Secretary-General to "submit for consideration by the Council ... a report on all aspects of this matter, including specific proposals and where appropriate options ... taking into account suggestions put forward in this regard by Member States". The Court was originally proposed by German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel. Resolution 827 of 25 May 1993 approved th
S/25704 report
of the Secretary-General and adopted the Statute of the International Tribunal annexed to it, formally creating the ICTY. It was to have jurisdiction over four clusters of crimes committed on the territory of the former SFR Yugoslavia since 1991: #Grave breaches of the
Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conve ...
#Violations of the laws or customs of war #
Genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...
#
Crime against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
. The maximum sentence the ICTY could impose for these crimes was life imprisonment.


Implementation

In 1993, the ICTY built its internal infrastructure. 17 states had signed an agreement with the ICTY to carry out custodial sentences. 1993–1994: In the first year of its existence, the Tribunal laid foundations for its existence as a judicial organ. It established the legal framework for its operations by adopting the rules of procedure and evidence, as well as its rules of detention and directive for the assignment of defense counsel. Together, these rules established a legal aid system for the Tribunal. As the ICTY was a part of the United Nations and was the first ''international'' court for ''criminal'' justice, the development of a juridical infrastructure was considered quite a challenge. However, after the first year, the first ICTY judges had drafted and adopted all the rules for court proceedings. 1994–1995: The ICTY established its offices within the Aegon Insurance Building in The Hague (which was, at the time, still partially in use by Aegon) and detention facilities in Scheveningen in The Hague (the Netherlands). The ICTY hired many staff members and by July 1994, the Office of the Prosecutor had sufficient staff to begin field investigations. By November 1994, first indictments were presented and confirmed, and in 1995, the staff numbered over 200 persons from all over the world.


Operation

In 1994 the first indictment was issued against the Bosnian-Serb concentration camp commander Dragan Nikolić. This was followed on 13 February 1995 by two indictments comprising 21 individuals which were issued against a group of 21 Bosnian-Serbs charged with committing atrocities against Muslim and Croat civilian prisoners. While the war in the former Yugoslavia was still raging, the ICTY prosecutors showed that an international court was viable. However, no accused was arrested. The court confirmed eight indictments against 46 individuals and issued arrest warrants. Bosnian Serb indictee
Duško Tadić Duško Tadić (born 1 October 1955, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Bosnian Serb politician, former SDS leader in Kozarac and a former member of the paramilitary forces supporting the attack on the district of Prijedor. He was co ...
became the subject of the Tribunal's first trial. Tadić was arrested by German police in
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
in 1994 for his alleged actions in the Prijedor region in Bosnia-Herzegovina (especially his actions in the Omarska, Trnopolje and Keraterm detention camps). He made his first appearance before the ICTY Trial Chamber on 26 April 1995, and pleaded not guilty to all of the charges in the indictment. 1995–1996: Between June 1995 and June 1996, 10 public indictments had been confirmed against a total of 33 individuals. Six of the newly indicted persons were transferred in the Tribunal's detention unit. In addition to Duško Tadic, by June 1996 the tribunal had
Tihomir Blaškić Tihomir Blaškić (born 2 November 1960) is a retired general of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) who served during the Bosnian War and the Croat–Bosniak War. The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) indicted him o ...
,
Dražen Erdemović Dražen Erdemović (born 25 November 1971) was a soldier who fought during the Bosnian War for the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) and was later sentenced for his participation in the 1995 Srebrenica genocide. Background Erdemović was born in Tu ...
, Zejnil Delalić, Zdravko Mucić,
Esad Landžo Esad Landžo (born 7 March 1973) is a Bosnian convicted war criminal and former camp guard at the Čelebići camp during the Bosnian War. He served under this capacity from the camp's establishment until it ceased operations, between May 1992 and ...
and Hazim Delić in custody. Erdemović became the first person to enter a guilty plea before the tribunal's court. Between 1995 and 1996, the ICTY dealt with miscellaneous cases involving several detainees, which never reached the trial stage.


Accomplishments

In 2004, the ICTY published a list of five accomplishments "in justice and law": # "Spearheading the shift from impunity to accountability", pointing out that, until very recently, it was the only court judging crimes committed as part of the Yugoslav conflict, since prosecutors in the former Yugoslavia were, as a rule, reluctant to prosecute such crimes; # "Establishing the facts", highlighting the extensive evidence-gathering and lengthy findings of fact that Tribunal judgments produced; # "Bringing justice to thousands of victims and giving them a voice", pointing out the large number of witnesses that had been brought before the Tribunal; # "The accomplishments in international law", describing the fleshing out of several international criminal law concepts which had not been ruled on since the Nuremberg Trials; # "Strengthening the Rule of Law", referring to the Tribunal's role in promoting the use of international standards in war crimes prosecutions by former Yugoslav republics.


Closure

The United Nations Security Council passed resolutions 1503 in August 2003 and
1534 __NOTOC__ Year 1534 ( MDXXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 15 – The Parliament of England passes the '' Act Respecting the ...
in March 2004, which both called for the completion of all cases at both the ICTY and its sister tribunal, the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; french: Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda; rw, Urukiko Mpanabyaha Mpuzamahanga Rwashyiriweho u Rwanda) was an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nation ...
(ICTR) by 2010. In December 2010, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1966, which established the
International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, also referred to as the IRMCT or the Mechanism, is an international court established by the United Nations Security Council in 2010 to perform the remaining functions of the Internati ...
(IRMCT), a body intended to gradually assume residual functions from both the ICTY and the ICTR as they wound down their mandate. Resolution 1966 called upon the Tribunal to finish its work by 31 December 2014 to prepare for its closure and the transfer of its responsibilities. In a ''Completion Strategy Report'' issued in May 2011, the ICTY indicated that it aimed to complete all trials by the end of 2012 and complete all appeals by 2015, with the exception of
Radovan Karadžić Radovan Karadžić ( sr-cyr, Радован Караџић, ; born 19 June 1945) is a Bosnian Serb politician, psychiatrist and poet. He was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes by the International Criminal Tr ...
whose trial was expected to end in 2014 and
Ratko Mladić Ratko Mladić ( sr-Cyrl, Ратко Младић, ; born 12 March 1942) is a Bosnian Serb convicted war criminal and colonel-general who led the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) during the Yugoslav Wars. In 2017, he was found guilty of committing ...
and
Goran Hadžić Goran Hadžić ( sr-cyrl, Горан Хаџић, ; 7 September 1958 – 12 July 2016) was a war criminal and a nationalist politician of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina, in office during the Croatian War of Independence. He was ...
, who were still at large at that time and were not arrested until later that year. The IRMCT's ICTY branch began functioning on 1 July 2013. Per the Transitional Arrangements adopted by the UN Security Council, the ICTY was to conduct and complete all outstanding first instance trials, including those of Karadžić, Mladić and Hadžić. The ICTY would also conduct and complete all appeal proceedings for which the notice of appeal against the judgement or sentence was filed before 1 July 2013. The IRMCT will handle any appeals for which notice is filed after that date. The final ICTY trial to be completed in the first instance was that of
Ratko Mladić Ratko Mladić ( sr-Cyrl, Ратко Младић, ; born 12 March 1942) is a Bosnian Serb convicted war criminal and colonel-general who led the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) during the Yugoslav Wars. In 2017, he was found guilty of committing ...
, who was convicted on 22 November 2017. The final case to be considered by the ICTY was an appeal proceeding encompassing six individuals, whose sentences were upheld on 29 November 2017.


Organization

While operating, the Tribunal employed around 900 staff. Its organisational components were Chambers, Registry and the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP).


Prosecutors

The Prosecutor was responsible for investigating crimes, gathering evidence and prosecutions and was head of the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP). The Prosecutor was appointed by the UN Security Council upon nomination by the UN Secretary-General. The last prosecutor was
Serge Brammertz Serge Brammertz (born 17 February 1962) is a Belgian prosecutor, academic and jurist. He serves as the chief prosecutor for the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) since 2016. He also served as the chief prosecutor f ...
. Previous Prosecutors have been Ramón Escovar Salom of
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
(1993–1994), however, he never took up that office,
Richard Goldstone Richard Joseph Goldstone (born 26 October 1938) is a South African former judge. After working for 17 years as a commercial lawyer, he was appointed by the South African government to serve on the Transvaal Supreme Court from 1980 to 1989 and ...
of
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
(1994–1996),
Louise Arbour Louise Bernice Arbour (born February 10, 1947) is a Canadian lawyer, prosecutor and jurist. Arbour was the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and the Court of Appeal for Ontario and a former ...
of
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
(1996–1999), and
Carla Del Ponte Carla Del Ponte (born February 9, 1947) is a former Chief Prosecutor of two United Nations international criminal law tribunals. A former Swiss attorney general, she was appointed prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former ...
of Switzerland (1999–2007). Richard Goldstone, Louise Arbour and Carla Del Ponte also simultaneously served as the Prosecutor of the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; french: Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda; rw, Urukiko Mpanabyaha Mpuzamahanga Rwashyiriweho u Rwanda) was an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nation ...
until 2003. Graham Blewitt of Australia served as the Deputy Prosecutor from 1994 until 2004.
David Tolbert David Tolbert currently serves as the third president of the International Center for Transitional Justice, a global human rights organization with headquarters in New York. Previously, Tolbert worked with the United Nations for almost 15 years, a ...
, the President of the
International Center for Transitional Justice The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) was founded in 2001 as a non-profit organization dedicated to pursuing accountability for mass atrocity and human rights abuse through transitional justice mechanisms. ICTJ officially ope ...
, was also appointed Deputy Prosecutor of the ICTY in 2004.


Chambers

Chambers encompassed the judges and their aides. The Tribunal operated three Trial Chambers and one Appeals Chamber. The President of the Tribunal was also the presiding Judge of the Appeals Chamber.


Judges

At the time of the court's dissolution, there were seven permanent judges and one ''ad hoc'' judge who served on the Tribunal. A total of 86 judges have been appointed to the Tribunal from 52 United Nations member states. Of those judges, 51 were permanent judges, 36 were ''ad litem'' judges, and one was an ''ad hoc'' judge. Note that one judge served as both a permanent and ''ad litem'' judge, and another served as both a permanent and ''ad hoc'' judge. UN member and observer states could each submit up to two nominees of different nationalities to the UN Secretary-General. The UN Secretary-General submitted this list to the UN Security Council which selected from 28 to 42 nominees and submitted these nominees to the UN General Assembly. The UN General Assembly then elected 14 judges from that list. Judges served for four years and were eligible for re-election. The UN Secretary-General appointed replacements in case of vacancy for the remainder of the term of office concerned. On 21 October 2015, Judge Carmel Agius of
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
was elected President of the ICTY and Liu Daqun of China was elected Vice-President; they have assumed their positions on 17 November 2015. His predecessors were
Antonio Cassese Antonio Cassese (1 January 1937 – 21 October 2011) was an Italian jurist who specialized in public international law. He was the first President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the first President of the Sp ...
of
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
(1993–1997),
Gabrielle Kirk McDonald Gabrielle Anne Kirk McDonald (née Kirk; born April 12, 1942) is an American lawyer and jurist who, until her retirement in October 2013, served as an American arbitrator on the Iran–United States Claims Tribunal seated in The Hague. She is a ...
of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
(1997–1999), Claude Jorda of
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
(1999–2002),
Theodor Meron Theodor Meron, (born 28 April 1930) is an Israeli-American judge. He served as a judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), and the International Residual M ...
of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
(2002–2005),
Fausto Pocar Fausto Pocar (born 1939) is an Italian jurist. He is professor emeritus of International Law at the University of Milan, where he also taught Private International Law and European Law, and where he served many years as Faculty Dean and Vice-Re ...
of
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
(2005–2008), Patrick Robinson of
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
(2008–2011), and Theodor Meron (2011–2015).


Registry

The Registry was responsible for handling the administration of the Tribunal; activities included keeping court records, translating court documents, transporting and accommodating those who appear to testify, operating the Public Information Section, and such general duties as payroll administration, personnel management and procurement. It was also responsible for the Detention Unit for indictees being held during their trial and the Legal Aid program for indictees who cannot pay for their own defence. It was headed by the Registrar, a position occupied over the years by Theo van Boven of the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
(February 1994 to December 1994), Dorothée de Sampayo Garrido-Nijgh of the Netherlands (1995–2000), Hans Holthuis of the Netherlands (2001–2009), and
John Hocking John Hocking (born 6 August 1957) of Australia is the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, Registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). He served concurrently as the Registrar of the Mechanism for I ...
of Australia (May 2009 to December 2017).


Detention facilities

Those defendants on trial and those who were denied a provisional release were detained at the United Nations Detention Unit on the premises of the
Penitentiary Institution Haaglanden The Hague Penitentiary Institution (Dutch: ''Penitentiaire Inrichting Haaglanden'') is a Dutch prison that is part of the Judicial Institutions Department (''Dienst Justitiële Inrichtingen'', DJI) of the Ministry of Justice. It can accommodat ...
, location Scheveningen in
Belgisch Park Belgisch Park (, literally ''Belgian Park'') is a neighbourhood in the Scheveningen district of The Hague, Netherlands. The area has around 7,900 residents and contains many trees and the adjoining “Nieuwe Scheveningse Bosjes” and “Oostd ...
, a suburb of
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
, located some 3 km by road from the courthouse. The indicted were housed in private cells which had a toilet, shower, radio, satellite TV, personal computer (without internet access) and other luxuries. They were allowed to phone family and friends daily and could have conjugal visits. There was also a library, a gym and various rooms used for religious observances. The inmates were allowed to cook for themselves. All of the inmates mixed freely and were not segregated on the basis of nationality. As the cells were more akin to a university residence instead of a jail, some had derisively referred to the ICT as the "Hague Hilton". The reason for this luxury relative to other prisons is that the first president of the court wanted to emphasise that the indictees were innocent until proven guilty.


Indictees

The Tribunal indicted 161 individuals between 1997 and 2004 and completed proceedings with them as follows: * 111 had trials completed by the ICTY: ** 21 were acquitted by the ICTY: *** 18 acquittals have stood; *** 1 was originally acquitted by the ICTY, but convicted on appeal by the IRMCT of one count (and sentenced to time served) *** 2 were originally acquitted by the ICTY, but following successful appeal by the prosecution the acquittals were overturned and a retrial is being conducted by the IRMCT; and ** 90 were convicted and sentenced by the ICTY: *** 87 were transferred to 14 different states where they served their prison sentences, had sentences that amounted to time spent in detention during trial, or died after conviction: **** 20 remain imprisoned; **** 58 completed their sentences; **** 9 died while completing their sentences or after conviction awaiting transfer *** 2 were convicted and sentenced, and remain in IRMCT detention awaiting transfer; and *** 1 was convicted and sentenced, but has filed an appeal to the IRMCT that is being considered * 13 had their cases transferred to courts in: ** Bosnia and Herzegovina (10); ** Croatia (2); and ** Serbia (1) * 37 had their cases terminated prior to trial completion, because ** the indictments were withdrawn (20); or ** the indictees died before or after transfer to the Tribunal (17). The indictees ranged from common soldiers to generals and police commanders all the way to prime ministers. Slobodan Milošević was the first sitting head of state indicted for war crimes. Other "high level" indictees included
Milan Babić Milan Babić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Бабић; 25 February 1956 – 5 March 2006) was a Croatian Serb politician and war criminal who served as the first president of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, a self-proclaimed state largely populated by ...
, former President of the
Republika Srpska Krajina The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sh, Република Српска Крајина, italics=no / or РСК / ''RSK'', ), known as the Serbian Krajina ( / ) or simply Krajina, was a self-proclaimed Serb proto-state ...
;
Ramush Haradinaj Ramush Haradinaj (; born 3 July 1968) is a Kosovo Albanian politician, leader of the AAK party, and the third prime minister of Kosovo. He is a former officer and leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), and previously served as Prime Minister ...
, former
Prime Minister of Kosovo The prime minister of the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Kryeministri i Republikës së Kosovës, sr, Премијер Републике Косова, Premijer Republike Kosova) is the head of government of Kosovo. The prime minister and the Gover ...
;
Radovan Karadžić Radovan Karadžić ( sr-cyr, Радован Караџић, ; born 19 June 1945) is a Bosnian Serb politician, psychiatrist and poet. He was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes by the International Criminal Tr ...
, former President of the Republika Srpska;
Ratko Mladić Ratko Mladić ( sr-Cyrl, Ратко Младић, ; born 12 March 1942) is a Bosnian Serb convicted war criminal and colonel-general who led the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) during the Yugoslav Wars. In 2017, he was found guilty of committing ...
, former Commander of the
Bosnian Serb Army The Army of Republika Srpska ( sr, Војска Републике Српске/Vojska Republike Srpske; ВРС/VRS), commonly referred to in English as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of Republika Srpska (RS), the self-proclaimed Serb ...
; and
Ante Gotovina Ante Gotovina (born 12 October 1955) is a Croatian retired lieutenant general and former French senior corporal who served in the Croatian War for Independence. He is noted for his primary role in the 1995 Operation Storm. In 2001, the Internat ...
, former General of the
Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( hr, Hrvatska kopnena vojska or HKoV) is the largest and most significant component of the Croatian Armed Forces (CAF). Role and deployment The fundamental role and purpose of the Croatian Army is to protect vital national i ...
. The very first hearing at the ICTY was referral request in the Tadić case on 8 November 1994. Croat Serb General and former President of the
Republic of Serbian Krajina The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sh, Република Српска Крајина, italics=no / or РСК / ''RSK'', ), known as the Serbian Krajina ( / ) or simply Krajina, was a self-proclaimed Serb proto-state, ...
Goran Hadžić Goran Hadžić ( sr-cyrl, Горан Хаџић, ; 7 September 1958 – 12 July 2016) was a war criminal and a nationalist politician of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina, in office during the Croatian War of Independence. He was ...
was the last fugitive wanted by the Tribunal to be arrested on 20 July 2011. An additional 23 individuals have been the subject of contempt proceedings.


Controversies

Criticisms of the court include: *
Carla Del Ponte Carla Del Ponte (born February 9, 1947) is a former Chief Prosecutor of two United Nations international criminal law tribunals. A former Swiss attorney general, she was appointed prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former ...
, the chief prosecutor of the tribunal, said in 2021 that the US did not want the ICTY to scrutinise war crimes committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army. According to her,
Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic ...
, the United States secretary of state at the time, told her to slow down the investigation of
Ramush Haradinaj Ramush Haradinaj (; born 3 July 1968) is a Kosovo Albanian politician, leader of the AAK party, and the third prime minister of Kosovo. He is a former officer and leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), and previously served as Prime Minister ...
. * Michael Mandel,
William Blum William Henry Blum (; March 6, 1933 – December 9, 2018) was an American author, critic of United States foreign policy and socialist. He lived in Washington, DC. Early life Blum was born at Beth Moses Hospital (now part of Maimonides Medical ...
and others accused the court of having a pro-NATO bias due to its refusal to prosecute NATO officials and politicians for war crimes. * On 6 December 2006, the Tribunal at The Hague approved the use of
force-feeding Force-feeding is the practice of feeding a human or animal against their will. The term ''gavage'' (, , ) refers to supplying a substance by means of a small plastic feeding tube passed through the nose ( nasogastric) or mouth (orogastric) into ...
of
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
n politician
Vojislav Šešelj Vojislav Šešelj ( sr-Cyrl, Војислав Шешељ, ; born 11 October 1954) is a Serbian politician, founder and president of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS); he was convicted of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal ...
. They decided it was not "torture, inhuman or degrading treatment if there is a medical necessity to do so... and if the manner in which the detainee is force-fed is not inhuman or degrading". * Reducing the indictment charges after the arrest of
Ratko Mladić Ratko Mladić ( sr-Cyrl, Ратко Младић, ; born 12 March 1942) is a Bosnian Serb convicted war criminal and colonel-general who led the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) during the Yugoslav Wars. In 2017, he was found guilty of committing ...
, Croatian officials publicly condemned chief prosecutor
Serge Brammertz Serge Brammertz (born 17 February 1962) is a Belgian prosecutor, academic and jurist. He serves as the chief prosecutor for the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) since 2016. He also served as the chief prosecutor f ...
for his announcement that the former Bosnian Serb General, will be tried solely for crimes allegedly committed in Bosnia, not in Croatia. * Critics have questioned whether the Tribunal exacerbates tensions rather than promotes reconciliation, as is claimed by Tribunal supporters. Polls show a generally negative reaction to the Tribunal among both Serbs and Croats. A majority of Serbs and Croats have expressed doubts regarding the ICTY's integrity and question the tenability of its legal procedures. * 68% of indictees have been
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
(or
Montenegrins Montenegrins ( cnr, Црногорци, Crnogorci, or ; lit. "Black Mountain People") are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common Montenegrin culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro. Genetics Accordi ...
), to the extent that a sizeable portion of the Bosnian Serb and Croatian Serb political and military leaderships have been indicted. Many have seen this as reflecting bias, while the Tribunal's defenders have seen this as indicative of the actual proportion of crimes committed. However, Marko Hoare claimed that, aside from Milošević, only
Momčilo Perišić Momčilo Perišić ( sr-Cyrl, Момчило Перишић; born 22 May 1944) is a Serbian former general who served as the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Yugoslavia between 1993 and 1998. On 6 September 2011, in a first-i ...
(Chief of the General Staff of the
Yugoslav Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska ar ...
), who was acquitted, has been indicted from the Serbian military or political top when it comes to wars in Croatia and Bosnia. * According to Hoare, a former employee at the ICTY, an investigative team worked on indictments of senior members of the "joint criminal enterprise", including not only Milošević but also
Veljko Kadijević Veljko Kadijević ( sr-Cyrl, Вељко Кадијевић; 21 November 1925 – 2 November 2014) was a Serbian general of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA). He was the Minister of Defence in the Yugoslav government from 1988 until his resignatio ...
, Blagoje Adžić,
Borisav Jović Borisav Jović ( sr-Cyrl, Борисав Јовић, ; 19 October 1928 – 13 September 2021) was a Serbian economist, diplomat and politician who served as the President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia from 1990 to 1991. He was Yugoslavia's am ...
, Branko Kostić,
Momir Bulatović Momir Bulatović ( sr-cyr, Момир Булатовић; 21 September 1956 – 30 June 2019) was a Yugoslav and Montenegrin politician. He was the first President of the Republic of Montenegro from 1990 to 1998, after which he served as the Prim ...
and others. However, Hoare claims that, due to
Carla del Ponte Carla Del Ponte (born February 9, 1947) is a former Chief Prosecutor of two United Nations international criminal law tribunals. A former Swiss attorney general, she was appointed prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former ...
's intervention, these drafts were rejected, and the indictment limited to Milošević alone. * There have been allegations of censorship: in July 2011, the Appeals Chamber of ICTY confirmed the judgment of the Trial Chamber which found journalist and former Tribunal's OTP spokesperson Florence Hartmann guilty of contempt of court and fined her €7,000. She disclosed documents of FR Yugoslavia's Supreme Defense Council meetings and criticized the Tribunal for granting confidentiality of some information in them to protect Serbia's 'vital national interests' during Bosnia's lawsuit against the country for genocide in front of the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
. Hartmann argued that Serbia was freed of the charge of genocide because ICTY redacted certain information in the Council meetings. Since these documents have in the meantime been made public by the ICTY itself, a group of organizations and individuals, who supported her, said that the Tribunal in this appellate proceedings "imposed a form of censorship aimed to protect the international judges from any form of criticism". (France refused to extradite Hartmann to serve the prison sentence issued against her by the ICTY after she refused to pay the €7,000 fine.) * Klaus-Peter Willsch compared the
Ante Gotovina Ante Gotovina (born 12 October 1955) is a Croatian retired lieutenant general and former French senior corporal who served in the Croatian War for Independence. He is noted for his primary role in the 1995 Operation Storm. In 2001, the Internat ...
verdict, in which the late Croatian president Franjo Tuđman was posthumously found to have been participating in a
Joint Criminal Enterprise Joint criminal enterprise (JCE) is a legal doctrine used during war crimes tribunals to allow the prosecution of members of a group for the actions of the group. This doctrine considers each member of an organized group individually responsib ...
, with the 897
Cadaver Synod The Cadaver Synod (also called the Cadaver Trial; la, Synodus Horrenda) is the name commonly given to the ecclesiastical trial of Pope Formosus, who had been dead for about seven months, in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome during Januar ...
trial in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, when
Pope Stephen VI Pope Stephen VI ( la, Stephanus VI; died August 897) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 22 May 896 to his death. He is best known for instigating the Cadaver Synod, which ultimately led to his downfall and death. Family ...
had the corpse of
Pope Formosus Pope Formosus (896) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 6 October 891 until his death on 4 April 896. His reign as pope was troubled, marked by interventions in power struggles over the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the ...
exhumed, put on trial and posthumously convicted. * Some sentences have been considered too mild, even within the Tribunal, complained at small sentences of convicted war criminals in comparison with their crimes. In 2010,
Veselin Šljivančanin Veselin Šljivančanin (; born 13 June 1953) is a former Montenegrin Serb officer in the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) who participated in the Battle of Vukovar and was subsequently convicted on a war crimes indictment by the International Crimina ...
's sentence for his involvement in the Vukovar massacre was cut from 17 to 10 years, which caused outrage in Croatia. Upon hearing that news, Vesna Bosanac, who had been in charge of the Vukovar hospital during the fall of the city, said that the "ICTY is dead" for her: "For crimes that he ljivančanin had committed in Vukovar, notably at Ovčara, he should have been jailed for life. I'm outraged.... The Hague(-based) tribunal has showed again that it is not a just tribunal." Danijel Rehak, the head of
Croatian Association of Prisoners in Serbian Concentration Camps Croatian Association of Prisoners in Serbian Concentration Camps ( hr, Hrvatsko društvo logoraša srpskih koncentracijskih logora) is an association of former prisoners in Serbian jails and prison camps during the Croatian War of Independence. The ...
, said, "The shock of families whose beloved ones were killed at Ovčara is unimaginable. The court made a crucial mistake by accepting a statement of a JNA officer to whom Šljivančanin was a commander. I cannot understand that". Pavle Strugar's 8-year sentence for shelling of
Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...
, a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site, also caused outrage in Croatia. Judge Kevin Parker (of Australia) was named in a Croatian journal ( Nacional) as a main cause of the system's failure for having dismissed the testimonies of numerous witnesses. * Some of the defendants, such as Slobodan Milošević, claimed that the Court has no legal authority because it was established by the
UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
instead of the
UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Cur ...
and so had not been created on a broad international basis. The Tribunal was established on the basis of Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter; the relevant portion of which reads "the Security Council can take measures to maintain or restore international peace and security". The legal criticism has been succinctly stated in
memorandum
issued by Austrian Professor
Hans Köchler Hans Köchler (born 18 October 1948) is a retired professor of philosophy at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and president of the International Progress Organization, a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the United Na ...
, which was submitted to the President of the Security Council in 1999. British Conservative Party MEP Daniel Hannan has called for the court to be abolished, claiming it is anti-democratic and a violation of national sovereignty. * The interactive thematic debate on the role of international criminal justice in reconciliation was convened on 10 April 2013 by the
President of the General Assembly The president of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on a yearly basis. The president is the chair and presiding officer of the General Assembly. Election ...
during the resumed part of the GA's 67th Session. The debate was scheduled after the convictions of
Ante Gotovina Ante Gotovina (born 12 October 1955) is a Croatian retired lieutenant general and former French senior corporal who served in the Croatian War for Independence. He is noted for his primary role in the 1995 Operation Storm. In 2001, the Internat ...
and
Mladen Markač Mladen Markač (; born 8 May 1955) is a Croatian retired general. He was a Commander of Croatian Special Police during Operation Storm during the Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995), and afterwards held the rank of Colonel General. Later, ...
for inciting war crimes against Serbs in Croatia were overturned by an ICTY Appeals Panel in November 2012. The ICTY president
Theodor Meron Theodor Meron, (born 28 April 1930) is an Israeli-American judge. He served as a judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), and the International Residual M ...
announced that all three Hague war-crimes courts turned down the invitation of
UNGA The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Cur ...
president to participate in the debate about their work. The
President of the General Assembly The president of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on a yearly basis. The president is the chair and presiding officer of the General Assembly. Election ...
described Meron's refusal to participate in this debate as scandalous. He emphasized that he does not shy away from criticizing the ICTY, which has "convicted nobody for inciting crimes committed against Serbs in Croatia."
Tomislav Nikolić Tomislav Nikolić ( sr-Cyrl, Томислав Николић, ; born 15 February 1952) is a Serbian retired politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2012 to 2017. A former member of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS), he di ...
, the president of
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
criticized the ICTY, claiming it did not contribute but hindered reconciliation in the former Yugoslavia. He added that although there is no significant ethnic disproportion among the number of casualties in the
Yugoslav wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...
, the ICTY sentenced Serbs and ethnic Serbs to a combined total of 1150 years in prison while claiming that members of other ethnic groups have been sentenced to a total of 55 years for crimes against Serbs.
Vitaly Churkin Vitaly Ivanovich Churkin ( rus, Вита́лий Ива́нович Чу́ркин, p=vʲɪˈtalʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ˈtɕurkʲɪn; 21 February 1952 – 20 February 2017) was a Russian diplomat and former child actor. Churkin served as Russia ...
, the ambassador of
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
to the UN, criticized the work of the ICTY, especially the overturned convictions of Gotovina and
Ramush Haradinaj Ramush Haradinaj (; born 3 July 1968) is a Kosovo Albanian politician, leader of the AAK party, and the third prime minister of Kosovo. He is a former officer and leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), and previously served as Prime Minister ...
. * Regarding the final case on 29 November 2017 proceeding encompassing six Bosnian-Croat individuals, one of whom, Slobodan Praljak, in protest in court drank a poison and subsequently died, the
Prime Minister of Croatia , type = Head of Government , member_of = , reports_to = Croatian Parliament , appointer = Croatian Parliament , nominator = President of Croatia , termlength = At the pleasure of the parliamentary majority. Parliamentary elections must be h ...
Andrej Plenković Andrej Plenković ( ; born 8 April 1970) is a Croatian politician who has been serving as the prime minister of Croatia since 19 October 2016. He was previously one of eleven Croatian members of the European Parliament, serving from Croatia's ...
claimed the verdict was "unjust" and Praljak's suicide "speaks of deep moral injustice to the six Croats, from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croat people". He criticized the verdict because it did not recognize the assistance and support provided by Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina and collaboration of both armies at a time when the neighboring state was faced with the " Greater-Serbian aggression" and when its territorial integrity was compromised, as well it alludes to the link between the then leadership of the Republic of Croatia, while in the previous verdict to Bosnian-Serb
Ratko Mladić Ratko Mladić ( sr-Cyrl, Ратко Младић, ; born 12 March 1942) is a Bosnian Serb convicted war criminal and colonel-general who led the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) during the Yugoslav Wars. In 2017, he was found guilty of committing ...
does not recognize the connection with Serbia's state officials at that time. * Dutch filmmaker Jos de Putter made a trilogy, The Milosevic Case – Glosses at Trial, for Tegenlicht investigative slot at the VPRO. The main hypothesis of the film is that ICTY prosecution has been struggling and failing to prove any link between Milosevic and the media version of the truth of the bloody break-up of Yugoslavia. The legitimacy of the prosecution methodology in securing the witness accounts and evidence, in general, has been examined by the filmmaker.


See also

* List of people indicted in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia *
Command responsibility Command responsibility (superior responsibility, the Yamashita standard, and the Medina standard) is the legal doctrine of hierarchical accountability for war crimes.
*
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals f ...
*
Trial of Gotovina et al The Trial of Gotovina et al. was a war crimes trial held from March 2008 until (including the appeals process) November 2012 before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), set up in 1993. The ICTY indicted Croatian A ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* Ackerman, J.E. and O'Sullivan, E.: ''Practice and procedure of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: with selected materials for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda'', The Hague, KLI, 2000. * Aldrich, G.H.: ''Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia'', American Journal of International Law, 1996, pp. 64–68h * Bachmann, Klaus; Sparrow-Botero, Thomas and Lambertz, Peter: ''When justice meets politics. Independence and autonomy of ad hoc international criminal tribunals.'' Peter Lang International 2013. * Bassiouni, M.C.: ''The Law of the International Criminal Tribunal of the Former Yugoslavia'', New York, Transnational Publications, 1996. * Boelaert-Suominen, S.: ''The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) anno 1999: its place in the international legal system, mandate and most notable jurisprudence'', Polish Yearbook of International Law, 2001, pp. 95–155. * Boelaert-Suominen, S.: ''The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Conflict'', International Review of the Red Cross, 2000, pp. 217–251. * * Cassese, Antonio: ''The ICTY: A Living and Vital Reality", Journal of International Criminal Justice Vol.2'', 2004, No.2, pp. 585–597 * Cisse, C.: ''The International Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda: some elements of comparison'', Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems, 1997, pp. 103–118. * Clark, R.S. and SANN, M.: ''A critical study of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia'', European Journal of International Law, 1997, pp. 198–200. * Goldstone, R.J.: ''Assessing the work of the United Nations war crimes tribunals'', Stanford Journal of International Law, 1997, pp. 1–8. * Ivković, S.K.: ''Justice by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia'', Stanford Journal of International Law, 2001, pp. 255–346. * Jones, J.W.R.D.: ''The practice of the international criminal tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda'', New York, Transnational, 2000. * Kaszubinski, M.: ''The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia'', in: Bassiouni, M.C. (ed.), ''Post-conflict justice'', New York, Transnational, 2002, pp. 459–585. * Kerr, R.: ''International judicial intervention: the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia'', International Relations, 2000, pp. 17–26. * Kerr, R.: ''The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: an exercise in law, politics and diplomacy'', Oxford, OUP, 2004. * King, F. and La Rosa, A.: ''Current Developments. International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia'', B.T.I.R., 1997, pp. 533–555. * Klip, A. and Sluiter, G.: ''Annotated leading cases of international criminal tribunals; (Vol. III) The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia 2000–2001'', Schoten, Intersentia, 2003. * Köchler, Hans: ''Global Justice or Global Revenge? International Criminal Justice at the Crossroads'', Vienna/New York, Springer, 2003, pp. 166–184. * Kolb, R.: ''The jurisprudence of the Yugoslav and Rwandan Criminal Tribunals on their jurisdiction and on international crimes'', British Yearbook of International Law, 2001, pp. 259–315. * Lamb, S.: ''The powers of arrest of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia'', British Yearbook of International Law, 2000, pp. 165–244. * Laughland, J.: ''Travesty: The Trial of Slobodan Milošević and the Corruption of International Justice'', London, Pluto Press, 2007. * Lescure, K.: ''International justice for former Yugoslavia: the working of the International Criminal Tribunal of the Hague'', The Hague, KLI, 1996. * Mak, T.: ''The Case Against an International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia'', (1995) International Peacekeeping, 2:4, 536-563. * McAllister, Jacqueline R. 2020. "Deterring Wartime Atrocities: Hard Lessons from the Yugoslav Tribunal." International Security 44(3). Available at
Deterring Wartime Atrocities: Hard Lessons from the Yugoslav Tribunal
* McDonald, G.K.: ''Reflections on the contributions of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia'', Hastings International and Comparative Law Review, 2001, pp. 155–172. * Mettraux, G.: ''Crimes against humanity in the jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda'', ''
Harvard International Law Journal The ''Harvard International Law Journal'' is a biannual academic journal of international law, run and edited by students at Harvard Law School. The Journal is "the oldest and most-cited student-edited journal of international law." The Journal was ...
'', 2002, pp. 237–316. * Morris, V. and Scharf, M.P.: ''An insider's guide to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia'', African Yearbook of International Law, 1995, pp. 441–446. * Murphy, S.D.: ''Progress and jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia'', American Journal of International Law, 1999, pp. 57–96. * Panovsky, D.: ''Some war crimes are not better than others: the failure of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to prosecute war crimes in Macedonia'', Northwestern University Law Review, 2004, pp. 623–655. * Pilouras, S.: ''International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and Milosevic's trial'', New York Law School Journal of Human Rights, 2002, pp. 515–525. * Pronk, E.: "''The ICTY and the people from the former Yugoslavia. A reserved relationship.''" (thesis) * Roberts, K.: ''The law of persecution before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia'', Leiden Journal of International Law, 2002, pp. 623–663. * Robinson, P.L.: ''Ensuring fair and expeditious trials at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia'', European Journal of International Law, 2000, pp. 569–589. * Shenk, M.D.: ''International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda'', The International Lawyer, 1999, pp. 549–554. * Shraga, D. and Zackalin, R.: ''The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia'', European Journal of International Law, 1994, pp. 360–380. * Sjocrona, J.M.: ''The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: some introductory remarks from a defence point of view'', Leiden Journal of International Law, 1995, pp. 463–474. * Tolbert, David: ''The ICTY: Unforeseen Successes and Foreseeable Shortcomings'',
The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs ''The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal of international relations established in 1975. It is managed by students at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts University). It is also an online for ...
, Vol.26, No.2, Summer/Fall 2002, pp. 7–20 * Tolbert, David: ''Reflections on the ICTY Registry'', Journal of International Criminal Justice, Vol.2, No.2, 2004, pp. 480–485 * Vierucci, L.: ''The First Steps of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia'', European Journal of International Law, 1995, pp. 134–143. * Warbrick, C. and McGoldrick, D.: ''Co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia'', International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 1996, pp. 947–953. * Wilson, Richard Ashby: 'Judging History: the Historical Record of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.' Human Rights Quarterly. 2005. August. Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 908–942.


External links

*
International Center for Transitional Justice, Criminal Justice page
* International Progress Organization
Monitoring of the ICTY
* Del Ponte, Carla (2003).
The role of international criminal prosecutions in reconstructing divided communities
', public lecture by Carla Del Ponte, Prosecutor, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, given at the London School of Economics, 20 October 2003.
Topical digests of the case law of ICTR and ICTY, Human Rights Watch, 2004

Hague Justice Portal
Academic gateway to The Hague organisations concerning international peace, justice and security.
Hague Justice Portal

Why Journalists Should be Worried by the Rwanda Tribunal Precedents (deals also with ICTY) by Thierry Cruvellier for Reporters Without Borders

SENSE News Agency
a special project based in ICTY
Complete web-based video archive of the Milosevic trial

War Crimes, conditionality and EU integration in the Western Balkans
by Vojin Dimitrijevic, Florence Hartmann, Dejan Jovic, Tija Memisevic, edited by Judy Batt, Jelena Obradović, Chaillot Paper No. 116, June 2009,
European Union Institute for Security Studies The European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) is a Paris-based agency of the European Union (EU) within the realm of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The EUISS is an autonomous agency with full intellectual freedom and res ...

Introductory note
by
Fausto Pocar Fausto Pocar (born 1939) is an Italian jurist. He is professor emeritus of International Law at the University of Milan, where he also taught Private International Law and European Law, and where he served many years as Faculty Dean and Vice-Re ...
on the ''Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia'' in th
Historic Archives of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law


of the ''Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia'' in th

* ttp://legal.un.org/avl/ls/Pocar_CLP.html Lectureby
Fausto Pocar Fausto Pocar (born 1939) is an Italian jurist. He is professor emeritus of International Law at the University of Milan, where he also taught Private International Law and European Law, and where he served many years as Faculty Dean and Vice-Re ...
entitled ''Completing the Mandate: The Legal Challenges Facing the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia'' in th
Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law


by
Fausto Pocar Fausto Pocar (born 1939) is an Italian jurist. He is professor emeritus of International Law at the University of Milan, where he also taught Private International Law and European Law, and where he served many years as Faculty Dean and Vice-Re ...
entitled ''Contribution of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to the Development of International Humanitarian Law'' in th
Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law


by Patrick Lipton Robinson, ''Fairness and Efficiency in the Proceedings of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia'' in th
Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
{{Authority control Croatian War of Independence Kosovo War Yugoslav Wars War crimes organizations Organisations based in The Hague Organizations established in 1993 Organizations disestablished in 2017 Netherlands and the United Nations United Nations courts and tribunals Incitement to genocide case law