The Ramifications of the ICTY and the ICJ in Bosnia-Herzegovina Post-Conflict: Understanding the relationship between Justice and Reconciliation

Abstract

The ability to foster reconciliation while addressing human rights can be achieved through the ICTY and the ICJ stemming from their use of providing accountability on individual level to a state level, admissions of guilt, removal of war criminals from society, outreach program and establishing historical and legal truths. Within the state of BiH, for many citizens there exists the belief that a failure to administer justice occurred and furthermore it eroded the relations between the ethnic communities and has left a politically corrupt system creating human rights issues, politically, economically and socially. Through the vacuum of the ICTY and the ICJ, reassembling social relationships after the conflict is possible, however, international justice has experienced shortcomings namely when it is measured against victims and perpetrator's claims, being that victims feel 'let down' by the courts and because prevention of future crimes is not eroded but rather continue to permeate within the system.

The aim of the thesis is to further explore the effects of international legal courts through discussions on whether they achieved their purpose. Although the primary purpose of the courts was to provide justice and ensuring accountability for human rights abuses, there is the underlying theme of it aiding in the reconciliation process. Moreover what it is seeking to explore is how this process can be constructed differently in the establishment of future courts and future trials.