Report on the ICTY Statute and International Criminal Justice

This report analyzes the application of the ICTY Statute in international criminal justice, specifically focusing on the events in the Croatian village of Škabrnja. It examines the actions of the JNA, including the shelling of the village and the murder and torture of civilians, and assesses these actions in relation to the ICTY Statute's Articles 2-5. The report references the Geneva Convention and defines the relevant crimes, such as wilful killing, torture, and genocide. The report highlights the violations committed by the JNA and their alignment with the provisions of the ICTY Statute, providing a legal analysis of the events and the applicable international laws. The report also provides references to support the analysis.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

1INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE
In the chapter 7 of the book The Devil’s Garden: A War Crimes Investigator's Story, the
author J. R Cencich can be seen as discussing about the mass murder and homicide and firing
on the innocent villagers in the Croatian village of Škabrnja. The members of the JNA were
seen as shelling the village in a violent way. In furtherance to this the riflemen were also seen
as dragging the villagers, including both women and children, from their cellars to
mercilessly kill them (Cencich, 2013). These crimes are in direct violation of the ICTY
Statute. The ICTY statute has been mandated for providing justice towards any kind of
violation of international humanitarian law in the former Yugoslavia. Article 2 of the statute
provides the Geneva convention 1949 with the jurisdiction over prosecuting anyone
committing grave crimes against any person or property including wilful killing and torture,
and taking civilians to be hostages (Arnold, 2016). The provisions in Article 3 can be seen as
regulating the conducts of armed conflicts during war times. This article prohibits with a
non-exhaustive list of violations to the war time laws, one such law also includes unjustified
use of military weapons to destruct cities and public or private properties. Article 4 of the
ICTY recognizes the act of genocide as a punishable offence. Article 5 of the Statute defines
murder, extermination, rape, torture or other inhumane acts done in context of war to be
punishable crimes (Icty.org, 2020). The members of the JNA can be seen as being in
violation of the Articles 2-5 of the ICTY Statute as they were seen as shelling the village and
destroy it and in furtherance they also murdered and tortured the villagers residing.

2INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Reference
Arnold, R. (2016). Terrorism as a Crime against Humanity under the ICC Statute.
In International Cooperation in Counter-terrorism (pp. 137-154). Routledge.
Cencich, J. R. (2013). The Devil's Garden: A War Crimes Investigator's Story. Potomac
Books, Inc..
Icty.org. (2020). Mandate and Crimes under ICTY Jurisdiction | International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Retrieved 8 January 2020, from
https://www.icty.org/en/about/tribunal/mandate-and-crimes-under-icty-jurisdiction