ABSTRACT
The establishment of the International Tribunal in 1994 reflected the international community’s belief that the prosecution of the perpetrators of genocide and other serious crimes will prevent their repetition and convince Rwandans that justice will prevail. he success of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) is essential for Rwanda’s national reconciliation and the prevention of future attempts at genocide. The ICTR and its predecessor, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), are also important for the development of international humanitarian law. These two tribunals represent the first attempts by the international community to create international judicial organs to enforce the Geneva Conventions, the Genocide Convention, and laws proscribing crimes against humanity. In 1998 the ICTR set several monumental precedents for international humanitarian law. Countering the ICTR’s achievements has been its slowness in prosecuting the more than thirty people in custody at the start of 1999.
