INTRODUCTION

Memories of the conflict in Bosnia are still fresh for those studying post-conflict nations and their rehabilitation efforts. With these efforts to restore peace and order, the common lingua franca of rule of law is actively engaged, including a multitude of actors, goals, and perceived operational successes. In the context of Bosnia, one of the clearest examples of formalizing and establishing the rule of law or, perhaps more accurately, the International Rule of Law (IRL), was facilitated with the creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The ICTY was mandated to ‘bring to justice those responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the former Yugoslavia since 1991 and thus contribute to the restoration and maintenance of peace in the region.’ Concurrent with this international initiative, the local courts in Bosnia were tasked with trying ‘less serious’ war crimes cases.

With the closure of the ICTY, the ability of Bosnian courts to prosecute war crimes cases will become a major manifestation of this IRL implementation because they will be the only ones engaged in these prosecutions. Thus, the ability of local courts to prosecute war crimes and their compliance with international law and general standards of fairness represents a tangible way of assessing the impact of IRL in a post-conflict society and highlights potential problems in its implementation. The work of local courts is also illustrative of the process of re-strengthening the domestic rule of law by the introduction of international legal oversight and international legal institutions. For example, the Office of the High Representative (OHR) was appointed to help focus the number of courts, their locations, jurisdiction, and ethnic balance.

Post-conflict adjudication systems must account for factors outside of structural and rule of law implementation mechanisms, and acknowledge that the post-conflict restructuring efforts must be comprehensive and account for economic, sociological, historical, cultural, and anthropological aspects of the society in question. For the implementation of the rule of law is hindered not only by legal procedural and substantive issues, but by larger political and social limitations.