Beyond the Courtroom: Local Attitudes and Impact of the ICTY in the Former Yugoslavia

This article synthesizes empirical research on societal impacts of and public attitudes towards the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia across the post Yugoslav region. Drawing on a scoping review of 112 empirical studies published between 1993 and 2024, it maps how scholars have examined the Tribunal’s reception within affected communities and its societal effects, including legal reform, reconciliation, and memory politics. The findings suggest that the ICTY’s societal legacy has been uneven and contested. While the Tribunal documented crimes and contributed to legal and institutional reforms, it struggled to secure societal legitimacy or foster reconciliation across the region. Public attitudes were strongly shaped by ethnic identity, political narratives, and media framing, limiting the Tribunal’s expressive influence. By consolidating a fragmented body of empirical research, the article provides an overview of how the ICTY’s reception and societal impacts have been studied and highlights patterns and limitations in the literature.