International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
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The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is a body of the United Nations (UN) established to prosecute war crimes in the former Yugoslavia. The tribunal functions as an ad-hoc independent court and is located in The Hague.
It was established by Resolution 827 of the UN Security Council, which was passed on May 25, 1993. It has jurisdiction over certain types of crime committed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991: grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, violations of the laws or customs of war, genocide, and crime against humanity. It can try only individuals, not organizations or governments. The maximum sentence it can impose is life imprisonment. Various countries have signed agreements with the UN to carry out custodial sentences. The last indictment was issued March 15, 2004. It aims to complete all trials by the end of 2008 and all appeals by 2010.
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Organization
The Tribunal employs some 1,200 staff. Its main organisational components are Chambers, Registry and the Office of The Prosecutor (OTP).
Chambers encompasses the judges and their aides. The Tribunal operates three Trial Chambers and one Appeals Chamber (which also functions as the Appeals Chamber for the ICTR); the Presiding Judge of the Appeals Chamber is also the President of the Tribunal as a whole. Currently, this is Theodor Meron (USA; since 2002). His predecessors were Antonio Cassese (Italy; 1993-1997), Gabrielle Kirk-McDonald (USA; 1997-1999) and Claude Jorda (France; 1999-2002).
Registry is responsible for handling the administration of the Tribunal; activities include 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 is headed by the Registrar, currently Hans Holthuis (Netherlands; since 2000). His predecessor was Dorothée de Sampayo Garrido-Nijgh (Netherlands; 1995-2000).
The Office of the Prosecutor is responsible for investigating crimes, gathering evidence and prosecuting indictees. It is headed by the Prosecutor, who also serves as the Prosecutor of the ICTR. The current Prosecutor is Carla del Ponte (Switzerland; since 1999). Previous Prosecutors have been Ramón Escovar-Salom (Venezuela; 1993-1994), Richard Goldstone (South Africa; 1994-1996), and Louise Arbour (Canada; 1996-1999).
Judges
As of 2005, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia's Appeals Chamber is integrated by:
- Justice Theodor Meron (United States of America), President
- Justice Fausto Pocar (Italy), Vice-President
- Justice Inés Mónica Weinberg de Roca (Argentina)
- Justice Mehmet Güney (Turkey)
- Justice Wolfgang Schomburg (Germany)
- Justice Mohamed Shahabuddeeen (Guyana)
- Justice Florence Ndepele Mwachande Mumba (Zambia)
The Trial Chambers are integrated by:
- Justice Patrick Lipton Robinson (Jamaica)
- Justice Carmel A. Agius (Malta)
- Justice Liu Daqun (People's Republic of China)
- Justice Amin El Mahdi (Egypt)
- Justice Alphonsus Martinus Maria Orie (The Netherlands)
- Justice O-gon Kwon) (Republic of Korea)
- Justice Jean-Claude Antonetti (France)
- Justice Kevin Parker (France)
- Justice Ian Bonomy (Australia)
According to UN resolutions, the ICTY also has nine ad litem Judges:
- Justice Joaquín Martín Canivell (Spain)
- Justice Vonimbolana Rasoazanany (Madagascar)
- Justice Bert Swart (The Netherlands)
- Justice Krister Thelin (Sweden)
- Justice Christine van den Wyngaert (Belgium)
- Justice Hans Henrik Brydensholt(Denmark)
- Justice Albin Eser (Germany)
- Justice Claude Hanoteau (France)
- Justice Györg Szénási (Hungary)
Criticisms of the Court
Some of the criticisms levelled against the court include:
- It was established by the UN Security Council instead of the UN General Assembly The UN Charter specifically gives the right to establish such courts to the General Assembly. This has been the legal basis of Milosevic's claim that the court has no legal authority. It was established on the basis of the Chapter VII of the UN Charter; relevant portion of the charter reads "the Security Council can take measures to maintain or restore international peace and security"; it is disputed whether a tribunal could be considered a measure to maintain or restore international peace and security.
- An apparently disproportionately large number of indictees are Serbs (to the extent that a sizeable portion of the Bosnian Serb and Serbian political and military leaderships have been indicted), whereas there have been very few indictments resulting from crimes committed against Serbs (many Croat indictees were charged with crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims). Defenders of the Tribunal respond that Serb control of the established command structure (and most of the weaponry) of the Yugoslav National Army (JNA) from the start of the various wars facilitated the commission of crimes on a wider and more organised scale; furthermore, the Serb command structure facilitated the identification of those with command responsibility for war crimes.
- Many of the indictees are still not apprehended, which reflects badly on its image. Defenders point out that the Tribunal has no powers of arrest, and is reliant on other agencies (notably national governments, EUFOR and KFOR) to apprehend and extradite indictees.
- The Tribunal's power to issue secret indictments creates uncertainty among people who regard themselves as possible indictees, which places an unreasonable strain on their ability to proceed with their everyday lives, both in the short and long term.
- The Tribunal in effect makes no distinction between the Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian languages, issuing documents in what it terms "B/C/S" ("Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian") with no regard to differences between the three; see Serbo-Croatian language. Supporters of this approach respond that since all three forms are mutually intelligible to a high degree (and indeed were officially considered to be single language before the breakup of the former Yugoslavia) separate translations are not needed. The tribunal exclusively uses translators who speak Bosnian and Croatian variants and some of the indictees have filed complaints about not being able to fully understand the translations.
Indictees
Some of the notable indictees include but are not limited to:
| Name | Ethnicity Former rank | Indictment |
|---|---|---|
| Rahim Ademi | Albanian | awaiting trial |
| Milan Babić | Serb
prime minister of Republika Srpska Krajina | |
| Haradin Bala | Albanian | |
| Idriz Balaj | Albanian | |
| Beqë Beqaj | Albanian | indicted for contempt of the tribunal for allegedly interfering with witnesses in the case against Fatmir Limaj and Isak Musliu |
| Vidoje Blagojević | Serb | sentenced to 18 years for involvement in the Srebrenica massacre |
| Tihomir Blaškić | Croatian
general, Croatian Army | convicted, partially dismissed in appeal, since released |
| Janko Bobetko | Croatian
chief of staff, Croatian army | indicted, died before the case could be heard |
| Ljube Boškovski | Macedonian Christian
interior minister of Macedonia | for Ljuboten attack |
| Lahi Brahimaj | Albanian | |
| Ljubomir Borovcanin | Serb | indicted in Srebrenica case |
| Goran Borovnica | Serb | indicted in Prijedor case |
| Miroslav Bralo | ||
| Ivan Čermak | Croatian
army general | awaiting trial |
| Mario Čerkez | Croatian | sentenced to 15 years for offensives in Lašva Valley, Bosnia |
| Hazim Delić, convicted | Bosnian Muslim | convicted |
| Rasim Delić | Bosnian Muslim | |
| Vlastimir Đorđević | Serb
army general | |
| Đorđe Đukić | indicted for shelling civilian targets, died before case was tried | |
| Stanislav Galić | Bosnian Serb | indicted for Srebrenica |
| Milan Gvero | Bosnian Serb | indicted for Srebrenica |
| Ante Gotovina | Croat, army general | |
| Momčilo Gruban | Serb | indicted in Omarska Camp case |
| Sefer Halilović | Bosnian Muslim | for massacres in the villages of Grabovica and Uzdol, Bosnia |
| Ramush Haradinaj | Albanian
prime minister of Kosovo | indicted for action while regional commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army |
| Gojko Janković, | Bosnian Serb | |
| Goran Jelisić, | convicted | |
| Dragan Jokić | Bosnian Serb | sentenced to 9 years for involvement in Srebrenica massacre |
| Miodrag Jokić | Serb
admiral in Yugoslav navy | sentenced to seven years for the bombing of Dubrovnik |
| Drago Josipović | convicted for the massacres in Ahmići-Šantići | |
| Radovan Karadžić | Bosnian Serb
president of Republika Srpska | |
| Duško Knežević | Serb | indicted in Omarska Camp case |
| Dario Kordić | Croat | sentenced to 25 years for offensives in the Lašva Valley, Bosnia |
| Radomir Kovač | convicted | |
| Momčilo Krajišnik | Bosnian Serb
prime minister of Republika Srpska | |
| Milorad Krnojelac | Bosnian Serb | sentenced to fifteen years for the Foča prison camp |
| Radislav Krstić | Bosnian Serb
general, Bosnian Serb Army | |
| Dragoljub Kunarac | convicted | |
| Esad Lanzo | Bosnian Muslim | convicted |
| Vladimir Lazarevic | Serb
army general | |
| Fatmir Limaj | Albanian | |
| Sreten Lukić | Serb
Serbian police general | |
| Mladen Markač | awaiting trial | |
| Milan Martić | Serb
prime minster of Republika Srpska Krajina | |
| Željko Meakić | Bosnian Serb | indicted in Omarska Camp case |
| Radivoj Miletić | Bosnian Serb | indicted for Srebrenica |
| Milan Milutinović | Serb | indicted for incidents while in authority during Kosovo War |
| Dragomir Milošević, | Bosnian Serb | indicted for command of siege of Sarajevo |
| Slobodan Milošević | Serb
president of Serbia, president of Yugoslavia | indicted for incidents while in authority during Kosovo War |
| Ratko Mladić | Bosnian Serb
chief of staff in Bosnian Serb army | |
| Darko Mrđa | sentenced to 17 years | |
| Mile Mrkšić | Serb
interior minister of Republika Srpska Krajina | |
| Isak Musliu | ||
| Mladen Tuta Naletilić | Bosnian Croat | |
| Dragan Nikolić | Serb | indicted in the Susica Camp case, pled guilty, sentenced to 23 years |
| Drago Nikolić | Bosnian Serb | indicted in the Srebrenica case |
| Dragan Obrenović | Serb | convicted |
| Dragoljub Ojdanić | Serb
chief of staff, Yugoslav Army | indicted for incidents while in authority during Kosovo War |
| Naser Orić | Bosnian Muslim
commander of Srebrenica | indicted in relation to Srebrenica |
| Vinko Pandurević | Bosnian Serb | indicted in the Srebrenica case |
| Nebojša Pavković | Serb
chief of staff, Yugoslav army | indicted for incidents while in authority during Kosovo War |
| Biljana Plavšić | Bosnian Serb
prime minster of Republika Srpska | plead guilty, convicted |
| Vujadin Popović | Bosnian Serb | indicted in the Srebrenica case |
| Miroslav Radić | ||
| Mitar Rašević | ||
| Nikola Šainović | Serb
prime minister of Serbia | indicted for incidents while in authority during Kosovo War |
| Vladimir Šantić, convicted | ||
| Vojislav Šešelj | Serb
political leader of Serbia's Radical Party | |
| Duško Sikirica | convicted | |
| Veselin Šljivančanin | Serb
colonel, Yugoslav army | related to Vukovar |
| Mićo Stanišić | Bosnian Serb | |
| Vlajko Stojiljković | Serb
interior minister of Serbia | indicted with Slobodan Milošević, commited suicide before trial |
| Pavle Strugar | Montenegrin
general, Yugoslav army | sentenced to eight years for command authority in bombing of Dubrovnik |
| Duško Tadić | Serb | convicted in Prijedor case |
| Miroslav Tadić | sentenced to eight years in the Bosanski Šamac case, given early release | |
| Johan Tarculovski | Macedonian Christian | for Ljuboten attack |
| Stevan Todorović | convicted | |
| Savo Todović | ||
| Zdravko Tolimir | Bosnian Serb | indicted for Srebrenica |
| Mitar Vasiljević | convicted | |
| Zoran Vuković | convicted |
See also
External links
- Official website of ICTY (http://www.un.org/icty/)
- UN Security Council resolution 827 (1993) (http://www.ohr.int/print/?content_id=7117)
- [1] (http://www.un.org/icty/glance/index.htm) - KEY FIGURES OF ICTY CASES includes complete list of indictees and disposition of cases (to February 2005).
- Jurist Milosevic Trial discussion (http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/issue_milo_discuss.php)
- International Committee to Defend Slobodan Milosevic (http://www.icdsm.org/)
- Raymond K. Kent: The Hague and Serb history (http://www.balkanstudies.org/wordfiles/Byronica/Hague.htm:)
- Raymond K. Kent: The Hague Tribunal and the Serbs (http://www.srpska-mreza.com/library/facts/Kent-summary.html)
- Milosevic on trial (http://www.icdsmireland.org/resources/trial/trial-index.htm)
- Report to the Prosecutor by the Committee Established to Review the NATO Bombing (http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/nato061300.htm)de:Internationaler Strafgerichtshof für das ehemalige Jugoslawien
fr:Tribunal pénal international pour l'ex-Yougoslavie id:Pengadilan Internasional untuk Bekas Yugoslavia ja:旧ユーゴスラヴィア国際戦犯法廷 pl:Międzynarodowy Trybunał Karny dla byłej Jugosławii