Happy New Year. We’ll resume a full posting schedule this coming week; in the meantime, here's the 2008 review for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (drafted before the recent Bagosora conviction by the tribunal's spokesperson), and here is Balkan Insight on the War Crimes Chamber of the State Court of Bosnia & Herzegovina.
In each case, there have been significant successes, but equally significant challenges remain; Balkan Insight mentions Bosnia lacks a proper war crimes prison, which is problematic since security for serious war criminals is occasionally inadequate; the court's work remains controversial and at the center of interethnic tension in a fragile polity; and the ICTR faces challenges attempting to find safe locations for acquitted and released parties. Both courts are further undergoing the difficult process of domestication; the Bosnian court will be fully domestic next year, after existing as a hybrid – a chamber of the national court with majority international staff and judges – for its first five years, and the ICTR is slated to close its doors late in 2009, leaving further cases for domestic courts and prosecutors.
