This thesis will describe the numerous problems the Tribunal has faced in its attempt to prosecute those persons who have committed serious violations of international law in the former Yugoslavia, and will outline how it has attempted to overcome them. It will also explain why the Tribunal is important to development of international humanitarian law, irrespective of its success or failure. As Professor Cherif Bassiouni has stated "law develops out of a dynamic where historical opportunity provides the occasion for evolving a new sort of legal understanding development that can then provide a more settled foundation for behaviour in the future." [extract from Introduction]268 leaves ; 30 cm. Includes bibliography. University of Otago department: Law. "7 February 1997."