Order versus Justice: An Assessment of the Challenges Faced by The Commission of Experts and The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia During Their Attempts to Investigate and Prosecute Atrocity Crimes

The English School focuses on the issue of humanitarian intervention, because "it poses the conflict between order and justice in international relations in its starkest form. " This thesis posits that international investigations and prosecutions of atrocity crimes poses the conflict between order and justice in international relations in an equally stark form. Diplomatic attempts to facilitate a negotiated settlement to an armed conflict (order) may be undermined by attempts to investigate and prosecute atrocity crimes (justice), particularly where individuals deemed crucial to any settlement become the specific focus of investigations. Similarly, attempts to arrest individuals indicted for atrocity crimes (justice) in post-conflict environments, may in some instances lead to the nascent, fragile peace (order) breaking down where their supporters retain the capacity to act in a destabilising manner. The thesis explores these tensions between order and justice by focusing on the challenges faced by the Commission of Experts and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia during their attempts to investigate and prosecute atrocity crimes.