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Practices of the International Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone Regarding Crimes Against Humanity
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Mohammad Setayeshpur1   , Aqeel Miri Ahmad Al-Ziadii2 |
1- Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Qom, Qom, Iran.
2- PhD Student of International Law, Faculty of Law, University of Qom, Qom, Iran. |
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Abstract: (4 Views) |
| The study of defunct or expired international criminal tribunals (such as the ICTY for the former Yugoslavia and the ICTR for Rwanda) represents a pivotal chapter in the history of criminal justice. These courts laid the initial foundations for defining crimes against humanity and developing methods for prosecuting perpetrators outside of national frameworks. The role played by these ad hoc bodies extended beyond the imposition of penalties; it helped shape a legal legacy that subsequently guided the permanent International Criminal Court. These temporary criminal tribunals emerged from dire humanitarian conditions and bloody ethnic conflicts that shook the global conscience in the 1990s, established by binding UN Security Council resolutions as instruments to restore international peace and security. The practice of these courts regarding crimes against humanity served as a decisive message that the international community would not remain idle in the face of ethnic cleansing or genocide. This contributed to shifting concepts of justice from the realm of political aspiration to that of binding judicial proceedings reaching high-level leadership. The legal legacy left by the Special Court for Sierra Leone remains a fundamental reference for understanding how to apply international law within the context of failed states or non-international conflicts with high-intensity criminality. The court demonstrated that the success of international justice does not depend on funding or geographic location, but on the quality of judicial interpretation and the ability to adapt legal provisions to encompass emerging criminal patterns. Upon its formal closure and the transfer of its functions to the Residual Mechanism, the court left behind a rigorous judicial corpus, affirming that crimes against humanity are a stain on the conscience of the international community, and that prosecuting their perpetrators is a legal and moral obligation transcending all political considerations. Its judgments remain a living testament to the triumph of the rule of law over the logic of power and brutality. |
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| Keywords: International Criminal Tribunals, Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone. |
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Full-Text [PDF 566 kb]
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2026/09/18 | Accepted: 2026/09/24 | Published: 2026/09/24
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