Chapter 17. The Status Of ICTY And ICTR Precedent In Proceedings Before The ICC

Abstract

This chapter attempts to survey the status of International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) jurisprudence before the International Criminal Court (ICC) from methodological perspective. It outlines the use of precedent before the ICTY and ICTR. The chapter addresses the role of jurisprudence of the ad hoc tribunals under Article 21 of the Rome Statute. It analyses the relevance of decisions of the ad hoc tribunals to the interpretation of the Rome Statute and of the other legal instruments of the ICC. In respect of the substantive law, the ad hoc tribunals rely heavily on customary international law to determine the definition of the crimes under the tribunals jurisdiction as well as the applicable general rules of criminal law. Traditionally, international lawyers have been reluctant to afford decisions of international tribunals the character of a source of law in its own right. Keywords: ad hoc tribunals; ICTR; ICTY; International Criminal Court (ICC); jurisprudence; Rome Statute