International courts, such as the
ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia), need the following kinds of jurisdiction to proceed (this is similar to, but distinct from, the jurisdictional issues faced by domestic American courts):
1. Subject matter jurisdiction (a nexus with an armed conflict)
- Articles 2 - 5 of ICTY Statute
- War crimes, grave breaches of Geneva, and crimes vs. humanity, genocide)
2. Personal jurisdiction (limitations in terms of
who can be prosecuted)
- Persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law
3. Temporal jurisdiction (war crimes tribunals are limited to specific times of investigation)
- Committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia between 1 Jan 1992 and a date to be determined by Security Council upon the restoration of peace
