Plea Agreements in the ICTY

Abstract

Plea agreements have an impact on a number of issues affecting victims or perpetrators, extending beyond the resource and investigative advantages that prompted the growing use of plea agreements in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). This article considers whether these effects advance or offend the objectives underlying the establishment of the ICTY. It argues that the plea-agreement process has positive consequences for the creation of a historical record and for providing an opportunity for victims to be heard. It also contends that recent rulings have reduced the possibility that plea agreements might result in unequal treatment of convicted persons or dismissal of critical charges. Finally, the article suggests that the ultimate contribution of plea agreements to the work of the ICTY should be viewed not principally as a saving in resources, but rather as a tool for furthering accountability and justice under the all too real pressures of limited time and resources on the fulfilment of the ICTY’s mandate.