Judging the ICTY: has it achieved its objectives?

Source: (2009) Southeast European and Black Sea Studies. 9(1-2): 123-142.

This article offers an empirically grounded assessment of whether the ICTY has
achieved its goals of delivering justice and of contributing to the restoration and
maintenance of peace in the former Yugoslavia. This analysis is conducted both
from the perspective of Tribunal staff and of 65 victims from Bosnia and
Herzegovina (BiH). It is argued that while the ICTY has not realized these two
objectives, it is necessary to ask whether any court could do so. It is further
contended that the ICTY’s work highlights the limitations of criminal trials. While
retributive justice has an important role to play in post-conflict societies, it is
limited and is most effective when combined with restorative justice. (Author’s abstract).