Both the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) are now about to close. Bachmann and Fatic look back at the achievements and shortcomings of both tribunals from an interdisciplinary perspective informed by sociology, political science, history, and philosophy of law and based upon on two key notions: the concepts of legitimacy and efficiency. The first asks to what extent the input (creation) of, the ICTY and the ICTR can be regarded as legitimate in light of the legal and public debate in the early 1990s. The second confronts the output (the procedures and decisions) of the ICTY and the ICTR with the tasks both tribunals were assigned by the UN Security Council, the General Assembly, and by key organs (the president and the chief prosecutors). The authors investigate to what extent the ICTY and the ICTR have delivered the expected results, whether they have been able to contribute to 'the maintenance of peace', 'stabilization' of the conflict regions, or even managed to provide 'reconciliation' to Rwanda. Furthermore, the book is concerned with how many criminals, over whom the ICTY and the ICTR wield jurisdiction, have actually been prosecuted and at what cost. Offering the first balanced and in depth analysis of the International Criminal Tribunals, the volume provides an important insight into what lessons have been learned, and how a deeper understanding of the successes and failures can benefit the international legal community in the future.

With the ad hoc tribunals completing their mandates and the International Criminal Court under significant pressure, today's international criminal jurisdictions are at a critical juncture. Their legitimacy cannot be taken for granted. This multidisciplinary volume investigates key issues pertaining to legitimacy: criminal accountability, normative development, truth-discovery, complementarity, regionalism, and judicial cooperation. The volume sheds new light on previously unexplored areas, including the significance of redacted judgements, prosecutors' opening statements, rehabilitative processes of international convicts, victim expectations, court financing, and NGO activism. The book's original contributions will appeal to researchers, practitioners, advocates, and students of international criminal justice, accountability for war crimes and the rule of law.

This book is a guide to the law that applies in the three international criminal tribunals, for the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone, set up by the UN during the period 1993 to 2002 to deal with atrocities and human rights abuses committed during conflict in those countries. Building on the work of an earlier generation of war crimes courts, these tribunals have developed a sophisticated body of law concerning the elements of the three international crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes), and forms of participation in such crimes, as well as other general principles of international criminal law, procedural matters and sentencing. The legacy of the tribunals will be indispensable as international law moves into a more advanced stage, with the establishment of the International Criminal Court. Their judicial decisions are examined here, as well as the drafting history of their statutes and other contemporary sources.

When genocidal violence gripped Rwanda in 1994, the international community recoiled, hastily withdrawing its peacekeepers. Late that year, in an effort to redeem itself, the United Nations Security Council created the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to seek accountability for some of the worst atrocities since World War II: the genocide suffered by the Tutsi and crimes against humanity suffered by the Hutu. But faced with competing claims, the prosecution focused exclusively on the crimes of Hutu extremists. No charges would be brought against the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front, which ultimately won control of the country. The UN, as if racked by guilt for its past inaction, gave in to pressure by Rwanda’s new leadership. With the Hutu effectively silenced, and the RPF constantly reminding the international community of its failure to protect the Tutsi during the war, the Tribunal pursued an unusual form of one-sided justice, born out of contrition. Fascinated by the Tribunal’s rich complexities, journalist Thierry Cruvellier came back day after day to watch the proceedings, spending more time there than any other outside observer. Gradually he gained the confidence of the victims, defendants, lawyers, and judges. Drawing on interviews with these protagonists and his close observations of their interactions, Cruvellier takes readers inside the courtroom to witness the motivations, mechanisms, and manipulations of justice as it unfolded on the stage of high-stakes, global politics. It is this ground-level view that makes his account so valuable—and so absorbing. A must-read for those who want to understand the dynamics of international criminal tribunals, Court of Remorse reveals both the possibilities and the challenges of prosecuting human rights violations. A Choice Outstanding Academic Book Best Books for General Audiences, selected by the American Association for School Libraries and the Public Library Association Best Books for High Schools, selected by the American Association for School Libraries

The first of its kind, this book treats language justice in the realm of the international criminal law, focusing specifically on the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Defining linguistic justice to mean whether the parties to the proceedings have been addressed by the ICTY in their own language, this study explores the conditions for the delivery of linguistic justice in a context where language plays a key role in the conflict. After presenting a very brief history of language quarrels in the former Yugoslavia and pointing to a series of examples where the language, and underlying ethnic and national identities, have been used as a tool for a conflict, the book reviews ICTY language laws, language-related case law, and procedural linguistic equality of arms between the ICTY Prosecution and Defense to set the stage for language-related work that had to be carried out by the ICTY’s language services providers. After reviewing the history, the recruitment, professional criteria and standards, and training of all ICTY language professionals, this book explores whether linguistic justice has been served by showing overall outputs in translation and interpretation, overall ethnicity- and nationality-based language service delivery, and translation of the permanent court record. It shows that there is much more to provision of language services at international criminal tribunals adjudicating on ethnically motivated war crimes than traditionally thought, and questions whether any of it make any sense as things stand.

This edited volume provides a multidisciplinary perspective on the contribution of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to law, memory, and justice. It explores some of the accomplishments, challenges and critiques of the ICTY, as well as some of its less visible legacies.

International criminal law is experiencing a time of uncertainty and flux. There is increasing doubt surrounding where the international criminal justice project is heading. The contributions in this multi-disciplinary volume take stock of the situation and explore ways in which the validity of international criminal tribunals can be strengthened as the field of international criminal justice moves into a more uncertain future. Areas considered include: shaping the aims and aspirations of international criminal tribunals; increasing the effectiveness and legality of substantive international criminal law; improving certain processes and procedures of international criminal tribunals; improving relationships between international criminal tribunals and other organisations; and building trust between international criminal tribunals and African states.