Abstract

When establishing the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia (Yugoslav Tribunal) and for Rwanda (Rwanda Tribunal) in 1993 and 1994, the United Nations Security Council was aware of the fact that the success of the Tribunals would depend primarily on the cooperation of national states with these Tribunals. The contributions of states to the Tribunals' investigations, and national assistance to in- ternational court proceedings were considered, and later proved to be, the key factor in fulfilling the Tribunals' mandate — the prosecution of violations of international humanitarian law committed during the conflicts in former Yugoslavia and Rwanda in the beginning of the 1990ies. Today, the Tribunals are fully operating, having overcome initial difficulties as well as several difficult inurim problems. Even so, the co- operation of states remains an indispensable requirement for efficient proceedings of both Tribunals. This article focuses on state cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunals from the national perspective. State responsibilities, compiled under the heading "state cooperation" will be presented, fol- lowed by a presentation of the legal implications that these responsi- bilities hold for states. Finally, this paper will highlight both the imple- mentation of these responsibilities into national law, as well as