The Role of the International Criminal Tribunal (Hague Tribunal) in Detecting and Sanctioning War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia and in Particular in the Republic of Kosovo – Challenges, Expectations and Efficiency

Adem Spahiu
Heimerer College

Abstract

Abstract With the outbreak of bloody conflicts in the former Yugoslav federation, accompanied by numerous violations of the 1949 Geneva Convention, such as the establishment of concentration camps, extrajudicial killings, rape of women, mass arrests based solely on nationality and the persecution of prisoners, with UN Security Council Resolution 827 was established the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, based in The Hague, the Netherlands. The Hague tribunal has made a historic turn in bringing many suspects to justice, regardless of their political and social status. In that direction is the basic intention of this paper - to make a more detailed study of the role of the Hague Tribunal in determining the responsibility and punishment of persons suspected of having committed war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, with special reference to the situation in the Republic of Kosovo. The role of the Hague Tribunal in this area will be presented through the analysis of cases related to suspected and accused citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, interviews with them and some of the victims of such crimes, as well as through appropriate statistical indicators. We hope that with this analysis we will convey the voice of the victims and their families to the general public, but also the message to the current and potential perpetrators that crimes of this kind will not go unpunished. Keywords: International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (Hague Tribunal), war crimes and crimes against humanity and international law in the former Yugoslavia, situation in the Republic of Kosovo

Presentation