Ad Hoc Tribunals

The UN has been involved with several tribunals established to bring justice to victims of international crimes. The Security Council established two ad hoc tribunals, the ICTY and the ICTR. The UN has also been involved in various ways with the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), and others. While transitional justice and rule of law continue to be important to the UN, it is likely that the International Criminal Court will handle most situations that arise in the future. There are many secondary sources of information that can support research on various aspects of the work of the tribunals.

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)

Formal name: International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991.

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia website
Established by Security Council resolution 827 (1993) of 25 May 1993
Located in The Hague, The Netherlands

Basic Documents

The Legal Library portion of the ICTY website contains links to all basic documents as well as judgements
Statute of the Tribunal
- Original version annexed to document S/25704 + Corr.1
- Amended by various Security Council resolutions over the years
- Current version of the Statute, as well as previous versions, is posted on the Tribunal's website
Rules of Procedure and Evidence

Reports and Publications

Annual Reports to General Assembly and Security Council (list of symbols)
- The full text of the annual reports can be accessed through the Tribunal's website, as well as the ODS and UNBISnet
The Yearbook provides information about the work, members (with biographies), jurisdiction, organization, functioning and activities of the Tribunal in a given year
- Includes a bibliography of publications relating to the Tribunal released during the reporting period
The Judicial Reports reprint all public indictments as well as the decisions and judgements

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)

Formal name: International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other Such Violations Committed in the Territory of Neighbouring States between 1 January and 31 December 1994.

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda website
Established by Security Council resolution 955 (1994) of 8 November 1994
Located in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania

Basic Documents

Statute
- Current version on website
- Original annexed to Security Council resolution 955 (1994)
- Amended by several subsequent Security Council resolutions
Rules of Procedure and Evidence

Reports and Publications

Annual reports to General Assembly and Security Council (list of symbols)
Detailed information about cases is available on the website

International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (UNMICT)

The work of the ICTY and ICTR will soon be completed, however some tasks, including archiving of the case materials, will be carried out by a new body, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals. This body calls itself the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (UNMICT).

UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals website
Established by Security Council resolution 1966 (2010)
Located in Arusha and The Hague
Reports to the Security Council (list of symbols)

Because this is a new body, and the Tribunals are still completing their work, it is not yet clear how much of the ICTY and ICTR website functions will be carried out by the Residual Mechanism.

Khmer Rouge Tribunal documents can be located via this link: http://www.yale.edu/cgp/news.html

Source: United Nations Dag Hammerskjold's research guide on international law.