International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia is a body of the United Nations established to prosecute war crimes in the former Yugoslavia. The tribunal functions as an independent court and is located in The Hague.

It was established by resolution 827 of the UN Security Council, which was passed on 25 May 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, governments etc. The maximum sentence it can impose is life imprisonment. Various countries have signed agreements with the UN to carry out custodial sentences.

Its critics point out the fact that a tiny portion of the indictees were accused of crimes committed against Serbs, and of those most being lower rank persons whereas practically the whole Serb political and military establishment found itself indicted.