ABSTRACT
This chapter uses the jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) as a case study. The aspects of international humanitarian law analysed are those covered by Articles 2 to 5 of the statute which set up the ICTY. The ICTY was established on 25 May 1993 by the United Nations Security Council to prosecute those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law in the territory of the former Yugoslavia committed after 1 January 1991. The Security Council announced the creation of an international tribunal to prosecute those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law in the former Yugoslavia. The distinction between international and internal conflicts has been highlighted by many legal scholars. The United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court adopted the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on 17 July 1998.
