NCJ Number
164874
Journal
International Review of Penal Law Volume: 67 Dated: (1996) Pages: 139-208
Date Published
1996
Length
70 pages
Annotation
This article compares the content and policy issues involved in two international laws to address war crimes and other human rights; one statute deals with human rights violations in the former Yugoslavia and the other with the creation of an international criminal court.
Abstract
The discussion compares the Statutes of the Ad Hoc Tribunal to Prosecute Persons for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian law in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia and that of the International Law Commission for the Creation of an International Criminal Court. Both statutes try to combine essential aspects of the adversarial or common law system and the civilian and inquisitorial systems. The analysis concludes that the attempts to protect and enforce human rights through the prosecution of those who commit serious violations of humanitarian law are important and laudable. The success of the tribunals and the viability of both peace and justice depend on promulgation, interpretation, supplementation, application, and enforcement. The Ad Hoc Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda and the proposed International Law Commission draft statute fall short of these goals, but they can and should be modified in ways to make them functional. Footnotes