2021 Essay Volume

Students' Reflections on the ICTY’s Legacy

The Mechanism Information Programme for Affected Communities (MIP) of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (Mechanism or IRMCT) is pleased to present its new publication, the 2021 Essay Volume, featuring the best essays produced by law students who participated in the 2020-2021 Inter-University Video Lectures Programme. The MIP 2021 Essay Competition invited students who took part in the second cycle of the Inter-University Video Lectures Programme to explore a wide range of relevant, challenging, and contemporary issues. The essay topics were chosen by the participants themselves to reflect on the work and legacies of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY or Tribunal) and the IRMCT. The top essays were selected for publication in this volume.

Developed and implemented by the MIP, the Inter-University Video Lectures Programme brings together postgraduate students from nine law faculties across the former Yugoslavia. The aim of the Programme is to initiate and facilitate discussion on the region’s recent history, the role of the ICTY and IRMCT, and the principles of international criminal law and international humanitarian law.

More than 150 post-graduate law students participated in the second cycle of the Inter-University Video Lectures Programme. They represented the University of Donja Gorica, the University of Niš, the University of Podgorica, the University of Pristina, the University of Sarajevo, the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, the University of Vitez, the Union University in Belgrade and the University of Zagreb.

The MIP is funded by the European Union and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. The MIP team would like to express deep gratitude to all participating law faculties, their focal points for this Programme, and – most importantly – the students, for their wonderful contribution. We are indebted to them for their efforts and enthusiasm in participating in this initiative and look forward to our continued collaborations for the benefit of future generations.