Abstract

In response to the widespread atrocities committed during the Balkan wars and the Rwandan genocide, in the early 1990s the Security Council established the ad hoc international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. ¹ Subsequently, the Security Council was called upon to create other ad hoc tribunals to try the massive violations of international law committed in a variety of other conflicts. However, after less than 10 years of operations a number of structural, administrative, and financial problems plagued the international tribunals. This prompted the discussion whether there was a more efficient and cheaper justice model to combat impunity for international crimes. ²