Human Rights Courts in Bosnia

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2

The Legal Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Difficulties with Implementation . . . . . . . . 4

Non-Cooperation by States . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Non-Cooperation by the International Community . 8

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Works Cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

In the early 1990s, the fragmentation of the former Yugoslav Federation led to an outbreak of civil warfare and ethnic violence in the Balkans, particularly in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Concentration camps, mass murders, mass expulsions, and other indicators of genocide became widespread, and the term "ethnic cleansing" was added to the 20th century's lexicon of horrors.

The international community was originally slow to react. France and Russia had deep historical ties to Serbia, going back to the last great outbreak of ethnic violence in the region, which had helped to trigger the First World War. Turkey had equally strong ties to the Bosnian Muslims, whose ancestors had converted to Islam when the region was ruled by the Ottoman Turkish empire. The United States was subject to various internal pressures, ranging from public outcries over news reportage of ethnic cleansing to pressure from ethnic communities such as Serbian-Americans, plus a general reluctance to become bo

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and of doubtfully-reformed former members of criminal gangs. It was for this reason that the two special international courts were established. The formal authority of these courts, especially the Tribunal, is extensive, including authority over sovereign states. According to UN Security Council Resolution 827: A state's failure to act within a reasonable time in response to a warrant of arrest or transfer order constitutes a failure to execute the warrant or order. In such instances [the UN Security Council] may then take any measures its deems necessary to restore international peace and security in response to the failure to comply with its decisions. Such measures may include the imposition of sanctions or even the use of force against a noncompliant state [Palmer and Posa 364]. Enforcing the Tribunal's authority in practice, however, has been difficult. "Few suspects have been surrendered to the Tribunal and continued hostilities within Bosnia made investigation of violations of humanitarian law difficult" [Palmer and Posa 364]. The other new court, the Human Rights Chamber, was structured similarly to the European Court for Human Rights, allowing individuals to bring legal actions against national governments. T

Category: Foreign - H