What is the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)?
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is an international court established by the United Nations (UN) in 1993 to prosecute individuals for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991. The Court, which is located in the Hague, Netherlands, is composed of three Trial Chambers and an Appeals Chamber. The tribunal was initially designed to address the violations of international law committed during the ethnic conflicts of the former Yugoslavian states. The ICTY has the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. The Tribunal was granted power to prosecute accused individuals of such violations, regardless of their nationality or location. Furthermore, the ICTY is authorized to refer certain cases to national jurisdictions and can authorize any country to serve as a host for trial proceedings. The ICTY has been responsible for the conviction of numerous high-profile individuals, including former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević and Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladić. In addition, the Tribunal has issued several verdicts, which have had a significant impact on international law and accountability. For instance, in the 2007 judgement of the case against former President of Serbia Milan Milutinović, the court ruled that “the legal principle of superior responsibility” applies to individuals in positions of authority. This decision set a precedent for holding high-level individuals accountable for crimes committed by their subordinates. The ICTY was officially closed in December 2017, and its functions were transferred to the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals, a body set up by the UN Security Council to continue the prosecutions of those accused of international crimes in the former Yugoslavia.
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