Rule 11 Bis of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: Referral of Indictments to National Courts
![handle is hein.journals/bcic30 and id is 179 raw text is: RULE 11 BIS OF THE INTERNATIONAL
CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER
YUGOSLAVIA: REFERRAL OF
INDICTMENTS TO NATIONAL COURTS
SUSAN SOMERS*
Abstract: The United Nations Security Council created the International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in an effort to restore peace
and security to the region. The Tribunal is an ad hoc institution and has a
limited existence. A Completion Strategy was established by the U.N. Se-
curity Council to bring the work of the Tribunal to a conclusion. An im-
portant aspect of this Completion Strategy is the use of Rule 11 bis to
transfer certain cases from the Tribunal to national courts. This article
looks at the background, process, and judicial determination of Rule 11
bis requests.
I. BACKGROUND TO RULE 11 BIS' PROCEEDINGS
All cases indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the
Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) are by definition serious violations of in-
ternational humanitarian law.2 The Tribunal's status as an ad hoc insti-
tution established by the U.N. Security Council3 pursuant to Chapter
VII,4 as a measure aimed at the restoration of peace and security to
* Senior Prosecuting Trial Attorney, Office of the Prosecutor, United Nation's (U.N.)
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The views expressed
herein are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Inter-
national Tribunal or the U.N. in general. ICTY case names in the footnotes were short-
ened from their full names in the Serbo-Croatian language for standardization purposes,
and they were printed without diacritic marks.
I Int'l Criminal Trib. for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations
of Int'l Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugo. Since 1991,
Rules of Procedure and Evidence, at 8-9, ICTY Doc. IT/32/Rev. 39 (Sept. 22, 2006), available
at http://wvw.un.org/icty/legaldoc-e/index.htm (Rule 11 bis, Referral of the Indictment
to Another Court) [hereinafter R. P. & Evin.].
2 As reflected in the official title of the Tribunal, as set forth in footnote 1, and estab-
lished by authorizing resolution. S.C. Res. 827, U.N. Doc. S/RES/827 (May 25, 1993).
3 Id.
4 Id.; see Prosecutor v. Tadic, Case No. IT-94-1-AR72, Decision on the Defence Motion
for Interlocutory Appeal on Jurisdiction, 40 (Oct. 2, 1995) ([T]he Appeals Chamber
considers that the International Tribunal has been lawfully established as a measure under](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/bcic30&div=12&collection=journals&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Rule 11 Bis of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: Referral of Indictments to National Courts
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