Yearbook of the United Nations, 2005. Part 4, Legal questions. Chapter 2, International tribunals

Abstract

In 2005, the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 (ICTY) made significant progress in accomplishing its mandate by 2010. As part of that effort, a pilot e-Court system was implemented in February, integrating all documents into a central electronic database. In March, a Special War Crimes Chamber was established within the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to receive cases from ICTY and take over cases of lower-level accused not being pursued by the Tribunal. In August, the Security Council amended ICTY Statute to extend the terms of office of some short term judges, to allow them to finish adjudicating the cases on which they had begun working. During the year, the 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 (ICTR) rendered three judgments and commenced three new trials. The Tribunal was on course to completing all trials by 2008. Meanwhile, outreach programme activities continued to be a priority for ICTR, with the Information Centre in Rwanda being its focal point. To that end, seminars and workshops on international humanitarian and criminal law were held for Rwandan legal practitioners. The International Criminal Court (ICC), in its second year of functioning, began its operational phase, conducting investigation into situations of concern in three countries. In June, the Security Council referred to it the situation in the Darfur region of the Sudan.