The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; ‎Practices and Achievements

Conflict in territories of former Yugoslavia against the Muslims in Bosnia, as the biggest armed conflict in Europe after the World War II, resulted in establishment of an international tribunal by the UN Security Council. Creation of this tribunal and its performance since 1993 up to now has produced important implications for international criminal law. The practice and performance of this tribunal not only introduced new concepts and new definitions for concepts such as 'war crime's and 'crime against humanity' in international humanitarian law, but also paved the way for establishment of other ad hoc criminal courts and promotion of international criminal court. The present article aims to assess the consequences of creation of the International Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICY), its structure, functions and achievements, recent developments emanated from the updates of its statute, and the impacts of its practice on international criminal law and the function of International Criminal Court (ICC).