ABSTRACT
The normative contradictions which surround the creation and function of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), discussed in the previous chapter, present a political dilemma with reaching implications: the willingness of an actor to comply with any legal order is affected by that order’s perceived legitimacy and social acceptance. The problem of acceptance, therefore, has particular salience when analysing the perplexing problem of war crimes prosecution in the former Yugoslavia. This explains perhaps why a regime of political conditionality became necessary for the purpose of obligating ICTY ‘cooperation’ and compliance from impugned states such as Serbia and Croatia. This regime developed over the course of time, as it became clearer that ‘cooperation’ and compliance would be less voluntary, and became essential to buttress the work of the ICTY in its demands for ‘cooperation’ from Serbia and Croatia.
