The United Nations International Criminal Tribunals and their interpretation of the crime of genocide

1 Summary This thesis deals with the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals and their interpretation of the crime of genocide. There are two United Nations courts: The International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. These ad hoc Tribunals were the first international Tribunals since the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials. They were established by Security Council Resolutions in accordance with Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter as subsidiary organs of the Security Council. The Tribunals were the first international bodies which, after almost 50 years of existence, interpreted and applied the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide which was adopted by United Nations General Assembly in 1948. Their practice has shown the whole world that individuals can be charged with the crime of genocide and consecutively sentenced. The purpose of this thesis is to briefly describe the historical development of the international criminal justice until the establishment of these two United Nations International Criminal Tribunals, characterize both Tribunals and find out how they interpret the crime of genocide and the contribution of their case law to the international criminal law. The thesis is divided into five chapters. The..