The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a body of the United Nations (UN) established to prosecute serious crimes committed during the wars in the former Yugoslavia, and to try their alleged perpetrators.
The Tribunal building in The Hague
The tribunal is an ad-hoc court which is located in The Hague, the Netherlands. It was originally proposed by German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel and established by Resolution 827 of the United Nations Security Council, which was passed on May 25, 1993. It has jurisdiction over four clusters 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 or governments. The maximum sentence it can impose is life imprisonment. Various countries have signed agreements with the UN to carry out custodial sentences. The last indictment was issued March 15, 2004. The Tribunal aims to complete all trials by the end of 2009 and all appeals by 2010.
The ICTY should not be confused with the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice; both courts are also based in The Hague, but have a permanent status and different jurisdictions.
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