belgrade court dutch north sea coast issue final verdict week signal end experiment reverberate around world kill field rwanda cia secret cells europe international criminal tribunal former yugoslavia icty set unite nations 1993 mark big leap field international criminal law since ally try nazis nuremberg create answer bad war crimes europe since world war two set precedent accountability since put khmer rouge liberia charles taylor dock pave way court global ambition almost 25 years late legacy threat international criminal court icc open 2002 undermine renew west-russia rivalry stone-walling revolt africa barrel bomb syria boycott three five permanent members u.n. security council supporters yugoslav tribunal say remain beacon inspire grow demand justice creativeness deliver ad hoc tribunals africa conviction one country dictator another syrian sweden post facebook glass either half full half empty say alex white professor practice harvard law school say come far enough new institutions particularly icc replicate success icty easily say remarkable far come 25 years say icty north star yugoslav tribunal owe debt history bear end cold war 9/11 attack unite state russia weak west unite collective action decades conflict vietnam algeria afghanistan sri lanka escape major judicial scrutiny back arrest-power western peacekeepers readiness european union condition integration yugoslavia successor state cooperation tribunal issue 161 indictments secure 83 convictions wednesday verdict trial bosnian serb wartime commander ratko mladic last bar appeal yugoslav court first indict sit head state serbia slobodan milosevic recognize sexual violence crime war advance definition genocide u.n. tribunal rwanda assemble hybrid case law use tribunals sierra leone cambodia lebanon ultimately icc 2.5 million page transcripts offer forensic often harrow account state dissolution dispel fog wartime propaganda 4,500 witness take stand commit speak behalf survive say nusreta sivac former judge bosnia testify rape bosnian serb captors tribunal rule write history detractors say court slow expensive damage number high-profile acquittals milosevic die 2006 still trial case plague witness intimidation tribunal suppose help reconciliation revisionism rife convict war criminals often fete heroes critics argue indictment milosevic height nato air strike complicate conflict encourage cling another 17 months similar arguments make icc pursuit african leaders establish treaty boycott unite state china russia icc little clout icty one arab member find bulk work africa allege bias burundi quit court last month kenya south africa threaten follow court credibility already test collapse 2014 case kenyan president uhuru kenyatta sudanese president omar al-bashir eight-year evasion arrest glare impotence face nearly half million dead syria hand tie russian chinese veto security council refer case court non-member state syria icc deny bias africa various stag investigation georgia iraq ukraine colombia palestine though expect make little progress investigate conflict involve russia unite state watershed moment prosecutors month call formal investigation war crimes afghanistan include mistreatment detainees u.s. force country cia dark sit poland romania lithuania experts say move symbolic court ambition also limitations give unlikelihood cooperation trump administration yugoslav tribunal demonstrate strong political diplomatic support international community justice achieve chief prosecutor serge brammertz tell reuters without support obstacles almost insurmountable kevin jon heller law professor university amsterdam say icc strongly doubt ever go fulfill aspirations people state create nevertheless demand accountability multiply along avenues pursue experts point 2016 conviction chad ex-dictator hissene habre senegalese court first time universal jurisdiction use prosecute former ruler one country court another human right crimes principle saw syrian soldier convict swedish court last month partly basis social media post authorities sweden germany investigate dozen individuals crimes syria iraq security council paralyze u.n. general assembly launch ad hoc mechanism investigate war crimes syria hybrid tribunal work central african republic another moot south sudan ebb last five seven years fact increase demand justice expectation translate action say param-preet singh associate director human right watch icty efforts since change conversation say white reason project never die say go dormancy never die clamor justice yugoslav court leave global legacy