The United Nations Commission of Experts Established Pursuant to Security Council Resolution 780 (1992)

Throughout modern history, there have only been three internationally established commissions to investigate war crimes and prepare for eventual prosecutions before international and national judicial bodies: the 1919 Commission on the Responsibilities of the Authors of the War and on Enforcement of Penalties for Violations of the Laws and Customs of War (1919 Commission), the 1943 United Nations War Crimes Commission (UNWCC), and the Commission of Experts established pursuant to Security Council Resolution 780 (1992) to investigate violations of international humanitarian law in the former Yugoslavia (Commission of Experts). Even though there are no connections among the three bodies, there is enough historical precedential value in the first two as the antecedents of the Commission of Experts to warrant a brief examination.