NCJ Number
145228
Journal
American Criminal Law Review Volume: 30 Issue: 4 Dated: (Summer 1993) Pages: 1373-1414
Date Published
1993
Length
42 pages
Annotation
This article explores some of the difficulties associated with using a war crimes tribunal to prosecute offenders in the Balkan conflict, in light of the history of the conflict and the current international law framework and historical precedent for punishing war criminals.
Abstract
The Balkan conflict is rooted in the struggle to form a nation of southern Slavs in the wake of World War I; the first round of "ethnic cleansing" and unity, conducted under Tito following World War II; and the dissolution of Yugoslavia after Tito. War crime tribunals were implemented following both world wars; the current international law framework for war crimes trials is based on the post-Nuremberg application of the Geneva Conventions and the Laws of War. With regard to the situation in the former Yugoslavia, the United Nations possesses the prestige as well as the willpower to bring to justice those who have committed the worst humanitarian abuses. Potential problems associated with a war crimes tribunal include political consideration, timing, charges of cultural imperialism, and the logistics of gathering defendants and evidence. The author argues that, despite the obstacles, there are several overriding reasons to implement an international tribunal to try offenders in the Balkan war: the requirement under international law, the lack of another prosecutorial body, traditional reasons for holding war crimes trials, deterrence, and the shaping of a new world order. 260 notes