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Public International Law: International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)

This guide highlights key resources for international law research.

Finding Books

The following subject searches are recommended to identifying multiformat books about the ICTY.

  • Yugoslav War Crime Trials
  • International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991
  • Yugoslav War, 1991-1995—Atrocities

Background

The ICTY oversees war crimes cases from the Balkin conflict during 1900's. It has jurisdiction over the territory of the former Yugoslavia from 1991 onward. It has jurisdiction over individual persons only. It does not have jurisdiction over organisations, political parties, army units, administrative entities or other legal subjects. It was formed by U.N. Security Council Resolution 827 on May 25, 1993.

The following titles are recommended to learn more about the ICTY:

  • M. Cherif Bassiouni, The Law of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (1996).
  • Sanja Kutnjak and John Hagan, Reclaiming Justice: The International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and Local Courts (2011).
  • Michael J. Kelly, Nowhere to Hide: Defeat of the Sovereign Immunity Defense for Crimes of Genocide and the Trials of Slobodan Milošević and Saddam Hussein (2005).
  • John Laughland, Travesty: The Trial of Slobodan Milošević and the Corruption of International Justice (2007).
  • Virginia Morris and Michael P. Scharf, An Insider’s Guide to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (1995).
  • O. Olusanya, Sentencing War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity under the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (2005).

The Court

The ICTY is organized into three Trial Chambers and one Appeals Chamber. The Trial Chamber consists of three permanent judges and a maximum of six ad litem. The Appeals Chamber consists of seven permanent judges. The working languages of the ICTY are English and French. Subject matter is limited to war crimes committed in the territorial boundaries of the former Yugoslavia occurring after 1990.

The ICTY provides access to Practice Directions, for the court, and Training Materials for international criminal law practice tailored to the legal frameworks of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia.

Defense counsel should also be aware of the Code of Professional Conduct.

The court schedule and broadcast options can be accessed from the ITCY web site.

Cases:

  • ICTY Case Database provides the indictments, judgments, transcripts, as well as key decisions and orders from each case.
  • Appeals Chamber Case Law Research Tool (2004 onwards) provides summaries of all judgments and the full text of more significant decisions.
  • Judicial Supplement (1999-2004) provides summaries of significant decisions, orders and judgments issued by the Tribunal between February 1999 and August 2004.