ABSTRACT
The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was established in order to bring to trial those responsible for the atrocities committed during the conflict in the region. The commission of experts confirmed that grave breaches and other violations of international humanitarian law, including ethnic cleansing, mass killings, torture, and rape had been committed, and recommended the establishment of an ad hoc international tribunal. This led to the Security Council decision of 1993 to establish a tribunal to address the violations of international humanitarian law in the former Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). The ICTY recognizes the principle of nullum crimen sine lege, meaning that a person cannot be accused of a crime unless it was a crime under law at the time it was committed. In order to avoid accusations of applying the law retroactively, the tribunal applies principles of international humanitarian law that are customary law.
