The man, Milan Martic, has been convicted of murder, deportations, plunder, torture, attacks on civilians etc, during his tenure as a Serb official during the Yugoslav conflicts in the early 1990’s. The setting was the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia where since 1995, a legal process has been meticulously prosecuting a wide range of the accused stemming from the conflicts in Bosnia/Herzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo.

Milan Martic was a big fish in the small but toxic pond of the Krajina, an ethnic Serbian canton of Croatia. From the early 1990’s he served as President and Minister of Defense in the rump-regime “Republic of Serbian Krajina.” He forcibly displaced Croat Catholic and other non-Serb Muslim populations through the use of a spider web of “special police forces” and paramilitaries, one group known as “The Wolves of Vucjak.” Though convicted after an eighteen month trial and sentenced to 35 years in prison, I saw Martic during his appeal process during which five international judges sat in consideration.

The ICTY was established by the UN Security Council, and has since 1995 exercised a mandate to “Prosecute and try those responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of former Yugoslavia since 1991.” The breakup of Yugoslavia saw some of the most abominable crimes committed in Europe since the end of the Second World War — mass executions, torture, rape and plunder.

The Tribunal has indicted 161 people for serious violations of international humanitarian law. Only three remain at large; the notorious Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic, and Goran Hadzic. Of the others, 54 have been sentenced, 10 acquitted, 24 currently on trial, 11 at pre-trial, and 36 had indictments withdrawn, or are deceased. Most infamous of the prisoners has been Serbia’s leader Slobodan Milosevic who was captured in 2001, and tried in the Hague, but died of natural causes in March 2006 before any verdict..

First and foremost this international process is focused on bringing justice to the victims of the brutal ethnic cleansing which became the heinous hallmark of the Milosevic regime. The survivors have the chance to reassert their voice for justice. These are not just faint but haunting calls from the mass graves of Srebrenica, the siege of Sarajevo, or the ruins of Vukovar, but voices, empowered, steadied and strong who can confront the accused in a court of law.

In a current trial, two cousins Milan and Sredoje Lukic stand accused for murder and crimes against humanity. As leaders of the Serb para-military “White Eagles,” unit in Visegrad, they are charged with killing Bosnian Muslim men, women and children by locking them in buildings which were then burned.

The ICTY prides itself not only as holding leaders accountable ranging from a Head of State (Milosevic) to mid-level military operatives. “The question is no longer whether leaders should be held accountable, but rather when they can be called to account,” adds a document. This important step in international justice serves as clear warning from the Balkans to the Sudan and Zimbabwe.

Moreover, according to court officials, “Convicted leaders can’t hide behind a group. Importantly this shields ethnic communities from blame and contributes to promoting reconciliation in former Yugoslavia. Importantly the Court does not establish group or community guilt, but wisely focuses on the specific perpetrators of crimes. Two-thirds of the defendants are Serbs.

A key element according to court officials, is delivering “fair and expeditious justice,” through a transparent system. Sixteen permanent international judges and 27 ad litum judges are divided among three Trial Chambers and one Appeal Chamber. Though not established as a permanent court, the costs have skyrocketed from $25 million in 1995 to $311 million in 2008. Contributing member states, especially Japan, the USA, and European Union want an end strategy.

Since 2003 there has been a plan to close the Tribunal by 2010. Sources state that trials should finish this year; this may seem unlikely given the pace of procedure, process and justice. While trials and appeals should end by 2010, it appears the very nature of this system could lag longer, especially if Mladic and Karadzic are caught. There have been no indictments since 2004.

Yet, still I can’t believe “only” 161 people were substantially and clearly involved in the widespread horrors of the Yugoslav wars. Closing the books on indictments and the process, does after all allow many to get away with murder. There is no death penalty and life sentences are few.

Importantly the ICTY has a deeper purpose, to develop international law and to prove that efficient and transparent international justice is indeed viable. The Hague is significant too; home to the International Court of Justice, the famous World Court which reigns from the Peace Palace. And not to forget that a Dutchman, Hugo Grotius the “father of international law,” began to codify such universal concepts — that was in the 17th century.