Shortcomings of ICTY Outreach in Bosnia-Herzegovina: A Case Study

Abstract

Created in 1993 by the United Nations, with international criminal law still in its infant stages, the ICTY has been widely considered an experiment in international justice (Clark 2009a, 105). As the first ad-hoc tribunal, the ICTY was destined to a certain level of imperfection. That is not to say that the ICTY has not had its successes. It has been able to bring justice to major war criminals, established sexual violence as a war crime, and aided in the development of Bosnia’s national justice system (Tolbert 2002, 7). However, its inefficient Outreach program has tempered the ability for these successes to be appreciated by the local population. While the Tribunal may have indicted, convicted, and provided a basis of truth through justice – it means nothing if the local population does not accept the rulings reached by the tribunal.