THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA AND SERIOUS VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW: HAS «PUNISHMENT» EVER BEEN ON THE AGENDA?
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Published:
Apr 6, 2026
Abstract
Given the expediency of further exploring the essence of punishment in international criminal law, the proposed research is to be seen as the next rational and logical step following the historical phase of International Military Tribunals, on the path to developing a coherent and holistic concept of international punishment. Such an endeavour in turn is inconceivable without considering the experience gained from the lessons learned and the legacy of the next crucial stage in the evolution of international criminal justice, – that is, the developments surrounding the establishment and activities of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The key focus of the scientific investigation lied in an effort to shape a general ambiance as a certain starting point for the formation of a preliminary and rough idea about the perception of punishment in scholarly thought during that particular period. This attempt was carried out through a scrupulous analysis of more than half a hundred doctrinal writings by leading experts in the relevant area, which made it possible to conclude that the issue of punishment not only did not appear as a separate subject of inquiry, but was rather deliberately omitted in order to concentrate attention on matters related to human rights, which ultimately sets the intriguing tone for future thinking.
How to Cite
Kuzmin, E. (2026). THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA AND SERIOUS VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW: HAS «PUNISHMENT» EVER BEEN ON THE AGENDA?. Baltic Journal of Legal and Social Sciences, (1), 54-61. https://doi.org/10.30525/2592-8813-2026-1-6
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Keywords
punishment, Yugoslavia Tribunal, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, fight against impunity, responsibility for international crimes, international criminal justice, international criminal law
References
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25. McGonigle, B. (2005). De Facto v. De Jure Equality in the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Human Rights Brief, 13(1), 10–13.
26. Meron, T. (1993). The Case for War Crimes Trials in Yugoslavia. Foreign Affairs, 72(3), 122–135. https://doi.org/10.2307/20045627
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28. Ohlin, J. D. (2011). Proportional Sentences at the ICTY. In B. Swart, A. Zahar, & G. Sluiter (Eds.), The Legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (pp. 322–341), https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199573417.003.0012
29. Orentlicher, D. F. (2013). From Viability to Impact: Evolving Metrics for Assessing the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. International Journal of Transitional Justice, 7(3), 536–546, https://doi.org/10.1093/ijtj/ijt017
30. Penny, C. K. (1998-99). «No Justice, No Peace?»: A Political and Legal Analysis of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Ottawa Law Review / Revue de droit d’Ottawa, 30(2), 259–313.
31. Pettigrew, D. (2020). Mandate Interrupted: The Problematic Legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Washington University Global Studies Law Review, 19(3), 381–403.
32. Potts, A., Kjær, A. L. (2016). Constructing Achievement in the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY): A Corpus-Based Critical Discourse Analysis. International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, 29, 525–555. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11196-015-9440-y
33. Pruitt, R. C. (1997). Constitutional and Institutional Developments: Guilt by Majority in the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: Does This Meet the Standard of Proof «Beyond Reasonable Doubt»? Leiden Journal of International Law, 10(3), 557–578. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0922156597000423
34. Ramet, S. P. (2012). The ICTY – Controversies, Successes, Failures, Lessons. Southeastern Europe, 36(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1163/187633312X616959
35. Robinson, P. L. (2000). Ensuring Fair and Expeditious Trials at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. European Journal of International Law, 11(3), 569–589, https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/11.3.569
36. Rubin, A. P. (1994). An International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia? Pace International Law Review, 6(1), 7–17. https://doi.org/10.58948/2331-3536.1123
37. Sayers, S. M. (2003). Defence Perspectives on Sentencing Practice in the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Leiden Journal of International Law, 16(4), 751–776. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0922156503001420
38. Scharf, M. P. (1997). A Critique of the Yugoslavia War Crimes Tribunal. Denver Journal of International Law & Policy, 25(2), 305–312.
39. Scharf, M. P. (2000). The Tools for Enforcing International Criminal Justice in the New Millennium: Lessons from the Yugoslavia Tribunal. DePaul Law Review, 49, 925–979.
40. Schuett, O. (1997). The International War Crimes Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia and the Dayton Peace Agreement: Peace versus Justice? International Peacekeeping, 4(2), 91–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/13533319708413668
41. Shraga, D., Zacklin, R. (1994). The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. European Journal of International Law, 5(3), 360–380. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.ejil.a035876
42. Šimonović, I. (1999). The Role of the ICTY in the Development of International Criminal Adjudication. Fordham International Law Journal, 23(2), 440–459.
43. Stahn, C. (2019). A Critical Introduction to International Criminal Law. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108399906
44. Stahn, C., Agius, C., Brammertz, S., Rohan C. (Eds.). (2020). Legacies of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198862956.001.0001
45. Swaak-Goldman, O. Q. (1997). The ICTY and the Right to a Fair Trial: A Critique of the Critics. Leiden Journal of International Law, 10(2), 215–221. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0922156597000198
46. Swart, B., Zahar, A., Sluiter, G. (Eds.). (2011). The Legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199573417.001.0001
47. Tolbert, D. (2002). The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: Unforeseen Successes and Foreseeable Shortcomings. The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, 26(2), 7–19.
48. van der Laarse, R., Jeurgens, C., Tanović, S. (2025). The Former «Yugoslavia Tribunal» as Monument of Justice: History, Heritage and Memory of the ICTY and IRMCT in the City of Peace and Justice. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.33326002
49. Vierucci, L. (1995). The First Steps of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. European Journal of International Law, 6(1), 134–143. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/6.1.134
50. von Hebel, H. (1993). An International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia; An Act of Powerlessness or a New Challenge for the International Community? Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights, 11(4), 437–456. https://doi.org/10.1177/016934419301100404
51. Żarna, K. (2018). Activity of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (1993–2017). An Assessment. Polityka i Społeczeństwo, 4(16), 65–75. https://doi.org/10.15584/polispol.2018.4.6
2. Akhavan, P. (1998). Justice in the Hague, Peace in the Former Yugoslavia? A Commentary on the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal. Human Rights Quarterly, 20(4), 737–816.
3. Bardos, G. N. (2013). Trials and Tribulations: Politics as Justice at the ICTY. World Affairs, 176(3), 15–24.
4. Baroni, F. (2000). The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and Its Mission to Restore Peace. Pace International Law Review, 12(2), 233–252. https://doi.org/10.58948/2331-3536.1228
5. Bassiouni, M. C. (1994). Former Yugoslavia: Investigating Violations of International Humanitarian Law and Establishing an International Criminal Tribunal. Security Dialogue, 25(4), 409–423.
6. Beresford, S. (1999). The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: the First Four Years. Otago Law Review, 9(3), 557–578.
7. Birdsall, A. (2007). Creating a More «Just» Order: The Ad Hoc International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Cooperation and Conflict, 42(4), 397–418. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010836707082648
8. Brammertz, S. (2015). International Criminal Justice and the Rule of Law: The Experience of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). In G. De Baere, J. Wouters (Eds.), The Contribution of International and Supranational Courts to the Rule of Law (pp. 267–302). https://doi.org/10.4337/9781783476626.00020
9. Cassese, A. (1997). Foreword by the Former President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. International Review of the Red Cross, 37(321), 601–602. https://doi.org/10.1017/S002086040007769X
10. Cassese, A. (2004). The ICTY: A Living and Vital Reality. Journal of International Criminal Justice, 2(2), 585–597. https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/2.2.585
11. Clark, J. N. (2009). Judging the ICTY: Has It Achieved Its Objectives? Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 9(1-2), 123–142. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683850902723454
12. Davis, J. W. (2017). The Two Wrongs Do Make a Right: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia was Established Illegally – But it Was the Right Thing to Do ... So Who Cares. North Carolina Journal of International Law, 28(2), 395–420.
13. Drumbl, M. A. (2003). Looking Up, Down and Across: The ICTY’s Place in the International Legal Order. New England Law Review, 37(4), 701–722. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.411781
14. Fatić, A., Bulatović, A. (2008). Justice and Reconciliation in the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Medjunarodni problemi, 60(1), 31–46. https://doi.org/10.2298/MEDJP0801031F
15. Gurevich, A. M. (1995). No Custody, No Justice: The Ability of the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal to Prosecute Gross Violators of Human Rights in the Former Yugoslavia. International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice, 19(1), 83–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/01924036.1995.9678539
16. Hayden, R. M. (1999). Biased Justice: Humanrightsism and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Cleveland State Law Review, 47(4), 549–573.
17. Hayden, R. M. (2011). What’s Reconciliation Got to do With It? The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) as Antiwar Profiteer. Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 5(3), 313–330, https://doi.org/10.1080/17502977.2011.595597
18. Hazan, P. (2004). Justice in a Time of War: The True Story Behind the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. College Station: Texas A&M University Press.
19. Jarvis, M. (2017). The Practice of International Criminal Law. Some Reflections from an ICTY Prosecutor. International Criminal Law Review, 17(2), 398–415. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718123-01702001
20. Jeffrey, A., Jakala, M. (2012). Beyond Trial Justice in the Former Yugoslavia. The Geographical Journal, 178(4), 290–295. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4959.2012.00461.x
21. Kerr, R. (2000). International Judicial Intervention: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. International Relations, 15(2), 17–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047117800015002003
22. Kerr, R. (2004). The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: An Exercise in Law, Politics and Diplomacy. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/0199263051.001.0001
23. Kerr, R. (2007). Peace through Justice? The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 7(3), 373–385. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683850701565973
24. McAllister, J. R. (2020). Deterring Wartime Atrocities: Hard Lessons from the Yugoslav Tribunal. International Security, 44(3), 84–128. https://doi.org/10.1162/isec_a_00370
25. McGonigle, B. (2005). De Facto v. De Jure Equality in the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Human Rights Brief, 13(1), 10–13.
26. Meron, T. (1993). The Case for War Crimes Trials in Yugoslavia. Foreign Affairs, 72(3), 122–135. https://doi.org/10.2307/20045627
27. O’Brien, J. C. (1993). The International Tribunal for Violations of International Humanitarian Law in the Former Yugoslavia. The American Journal of International Law, 87(4), 639–659. https://doi.org/10.2307/2203622
28. Ohlin, J. D. (2011). Proportional Sentences at the ICTY. In B. Swart, A. Zahar, & G. Sluiter (Eds.), The Legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (pp. 322–341), https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199573417.003.0012
29. Orentlicher, D. F. (2013). From Viability to Impact: Evolving Metrics for Assessing the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. International Journal of Transitional Justice, 7(3), 536–546, https://doi.org/10.1093/ijtj/ijt017
30. Penny, C. K. (1998-99). «No Justice, No Peace?»: A Political and Legal Analysis of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Ottawa Law Review / Revue de droit d’Ottawa, 30(2), 259–313.
31. Pettigrew, D. (2020). Mandate Interrupted: The Problematic Legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Washington University Global Studies Law Review, 19(3), 381–403.
32. Potts, A., Kjær, A. L. (2016). Constructing Achievement in the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY): A Corpus-Based Critical Discourse Analysis. International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, 29, 525–555. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11196-015-9440-y
33. Pruitt, R. C. (1997). Constitutional and Institutional Developments: Guilt by Majority in the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: Does This Meet the Standard of Proof «Beyond Reasonable Doubt»? Leiden Journal of International Law, 10(3), 557–578. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0922156597000423
34. Ramet, S. P. (2012). The ICTY – Controversies, Successes, Failures, Lessons. Southeastern Europe, 36(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1163/187633312X616959
35. Robinson, P. L. (2000). Ensuring Fair and Expeditious Trials at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. European Journal of International Law, 11(3), 569–589, https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/11.3.569
36. Rubin, A. P. (1994). An International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia? Pace International Law Review, 6(1), 7–17. https://doi.org/10.58948/2331-3536.1123
37. Sayers, S. M. (2003). Defence Perspectives on Sentencing Practice in the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Leiden Journal of International Law, 16(4), 751–776. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0922156503001420
38. Scharf, M. P. (1997). A Critique of the Yugoslavia War Crimes Tribunal. Denver Journal of International Law & Policy, 25(2), 305–312.
39. Scharf, M. P. (2000). The Tools for Enforcing International Criminal Justice in the New Millennium: Lessons from the Yugoslavia Tribunal. DePaul Law Review, 49, 925–979.
40. Schuett, O. (1997). The International War Crimes Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia and the Dayton Peace Agreement: Peace versus Justice? International Peacekeeping, 4(2), 91–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/13533319708413668
41. Shraga, D., Zacklin, R. (1994). The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. European Journal of International Law, 5(3), 360–380. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.ejil.a035876
42. Šimonović, I. (1999). The Role of the ICTY in the Development of International Criminal Adjudication. Fordham International Law Journal, 23(2), 440–459.
43. Stahn, C. (2019). A Critical Introduction to International Criminal Law. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108399906
44. Stahn, C., Agius, C., Brammertz, S., Rohan C. (Eds.). (2020). Legacies of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198862956.001.0001
45. Swaak-Goldman, O. Q. (1997). The ICTY and the Right to a Fair Trial: A Critique of the Critics. Leiden Journal of International Law, 10(2), 215–221. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0922156597000198
46. Swart, B., Zahar, A., Sluiter, G. (Eds.). (2011). The Legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199573417.001.0001
47. Tolbert, D. (2002). The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: Unforeseen Successes and Foreseeable Shortcomings. The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, 26(2), 7–19.
48. van der Laarse, R., Jeurgens, C., Tanović, S. (2025). The Former «Yugoslavia Tribunal» as Monument of Justice: History, Heritage and Memory of the ICTY and IRMCT in the City of Peace and Justice. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.33326002
49. Vierucci, L. (1995). The First Steps of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. European Journal of International Law, 6(1), 134–143. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/6.1.134
50. von Hebel, H. (1993). An International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia; An Act of Powerlessness or a New Challenge for the International Community? Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights, 11(4), 437–456. https://doi.org/10.1177/016934419301100404
51. Żarna, K. (2018). Activity of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (1993–2017). An Assessment. Polityka i Społeczeństwo, 4(16), 65–75. https://doi.org/10.15584/polispol.2018.4.6