The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is an ad hoc court created by the United Nations Security Council resolution 827.  The ICTY is located at Hague, Netherlands.  The ICTY was created to prosecute crimes committed during the wars in former Yugoslavia.   ICTY has jurisdiction over: grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, violations of the laws or customs of war, genocide, and crime against humanity.  Jurisdiction of ICTY is confined to crimes committed within the territory of former Yugoslavia since 1991.  The highest punishment it can impose is life imprisonment.  ICTY plans to complete all trials by 2009 end and all appeals by 2010.

ICTY consists of three main branches: The Chambers, the Registry, and the Office of the Prosecutor.  The Chambers: The Chambers consist of three trial chambers and an appeal chamber.  Each trial chamber consists of three permanent judges and a maximum of six ad litem judges.  Appeals chamber consists of seven permanent judges.  Five out of seven judges are permanent judges of ICTY and the other two judges are permanent judges of International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).  The President and Vice-President of ICTY are elected from among the judges.

The Registry: The Registry is headed by the Registrar.  The Registry is in charge of running the ICTY’s day to day operations.  One of the main duty of the Registry is to manage the court.  Accordingly, the Registry supports the work of the Chambers.  The Registry gives protection to witness summoned to testify and bring them to court.

The Office of the Prosecutor: This office is headed by the Prosecutor.  Office of the Prosecutor investigates crimes, collects evidence and prosecutes persons alleged to have committed crimes.