The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was established in 1993 to prosecute serious crimes committed during the conflicts in the Balkan region following the breakup of Yugoslavia. On May 24, 1999, the tribunal issued indictments against Slobodan Milošević, the President of Serbia, and four others, which included high-ranking military and political figures, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity. These charges were centered on the violent actions that took place during the Kosovo conflict that erupted in 1998 and lasted until mid-1999. As hostilities escalated, Kosovo Albanians faced systematic attacks, leading to widespread human rights violations.The tribunal's decision to indict Milošević was groundbreaking as it marked one of the first instances where a sitting head of state was held accountable through an international legal process for actions taken during wartime. The ICTY's indictments were a direct response to the humanitarian crisis and ethnic cleansing reported in Kosovo, which drew global attention and condemnation. Following the NATO intervention in March 1999, which aimed to halt the violence, the tribunal accelerated its efforts to ensure justice for the victims of these atrocities. Notably, the ICTY's procedures were unprecedented, setting legal precedents for future international trials.The formal legal actions taken by the ICTY represented a significant shift in the application of international law, demonstrating an evolving recognition of the need to hold individuals accountable for war crimes. This represented a pivotal moment in the post-Cold War era, signaling the international community's commitment to addressing war crimes through judicial channels rather than solely through political negotiation.