Prosecutor v. Ramush Haradinaj et al.: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Threshold of Non-International Armed Conflict in International Humanitarian Law

On 3 April 2008, Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) delivered the judgment in Prosecutor v. Ramush Haradinaj, Idriz Balaj and Lahi Brahimaj (Haradinaj et al.). The ICTY Prosecutor had charged the accused, former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), with war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Western Kosovo/Kosova between 1 March and 30 September 1998. The Trial Chamber had to decide whether an armed conflict existed in Kosovo/Kosova between the KLA and Serbian forces. The situation on the ground in the early part of the indictment period was close to the threshold that distinguishes internal disturbances from non-international armed conflict. This Insight analyzes the Trial Chamber's findings on the existence of non-international armed conflict and, thus, the applicability of international humanitarian law to this type of conflict