25 May

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is established by the UN Security Council to sit in The Hague, The Netherlands. More

7 November

ICTY issues first indictment (Dragan Nikolić) for crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. More

8 November

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) is established by the UN Security Council to sit in Arusha, Tanzania.

7 May

The first ICTY trial begins (Duško Tadić). More

29 November

First ICTY judgement (Dražen Erdemović, “Srebrenica”). More

17 July

Adoption of the Rome Statute, providing for the establishment of the permanent International Criminal Court (ICC).

2 September

First-ever conviction for rape as a crime against humanity, and first ICTR conviction for genocide, in the ICTR case of Jean-Paul Akayesu.

24 May

The ICTY issues the first indictment by an international court against a sitting head of state: Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević is charged with crimes in Kosovo. More

10 June

The United Nations Interim Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is created to oversee the re-establishment of Kosovo’s justice system, including courts with both local and international prosecutors and judges to hear war crimes cases.

6 March

Special Panels with local and international judges open in East Timor, established by the country's UN administration to work in parallel with the ad hoc Human Rights Court in Indonesia to prosecute those persons responsible for the atrocities of the 1999 conflict.

22 February

First-ever convictions for enslavement as a crime against humanity, and first ICTY convictions for rape as a crime against humanity in the case of Kunarac et al. More

29 June

Slobodan Milošević is transferred into the custody of ICTY. More

16 January

The Special Court for Sierra Leone is established in Freetown by agreement between the UN and the country's government, with a mixed international and local bench.

12 February

The Trial of Slobodan Milošević begins at the ICTY.

1 July

The ICC - the world’s first permanent war crimes court - begins operating in The Hague.

19 April

First ICTY conviction for aiding and abetting genocide in the case of Radislav Krstić (Srebrenica). More

9 March

The War Crimes Chamber in the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina starts adjudicating war crimes cases by mixed panels of international and national judges. Its establishment was advocated by the ICTY as a vital legacy endeavour needed to further strengthen the rule of law.

18 January

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) begin operating. The joint Cambodia-UN court prosecutes those most responsible for the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge mass murders.

17 March

First arrest of an ICC accused: Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

30 May

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is created by the UN Security Council as agreed with the Lebanese government, to punish those responsible for the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and others.

4 June

The Trial of Charles Taylor, former President of Liberia, begins before a Trial Chamber of the SCSL, sitting in The Hague.

20 June

First-ever international court conviction for conscripting child soldiers in the SCSL case against three leaders of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council.

30 July

Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić is transferred to the ICTY to face trial for genocide and other alleged crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. More

25 February

First-ever conviction for forced marriage as a crime against humanity in the SCSL case against three Revolutionary United Front leaders.

26 February

An ICTY Trial Chamber sentences five senior Serb politicians, military and police officials to a combined total of 96 years’ imprisonment for crimes committed against Albanians in Kosovo during the 1999 conflict. More

5 March

The ICC issues an arrest warrant for Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. The charge of genocide is added to his indictment on 12 July 2010.

17 March

The ICTY Appeals Chamber sentences Momčilo Krajišnik, one of the highest-ranking wartime members of the Bosnian Serb leadership, to 20 years’ imprisonment for crimes committed during the Bosnian conflict. More

30 March

The first trial before the ECCC opens against former prison commander Kaing Guek Eav, a.k.a. Duch.

26 October

The Trial of Radovan Karadžić begins at the ICTY. More

10 June

A Trial Chamber sentences two accused to life imprisonment for genocide and five others to a combined total of 89 years' imprisonment for crimes committed in Srebrenica in July 1995. This is the largest ICTY trial to date. More