Judging the icty: has it achieved its objectives?

This article offers an empirically grounded assessment of whether the ICTY has achieved its goals of delivering justice and of contributing to the restoration and maintenance of peace in the former Yugoslavia. This analysis is conducted both from the perspective of Tribunal staff and of 65 victims from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). It is argued that while the ICTY has not realized these two objectives, it is necessary to ask whether any court could do so. It is further contended that the ICTY’s work highlights the limitations of criminal trials. While retributive justice has an important role to play in post‐conflict societies, it is limited and is most effective when combined with restorative justice.