The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) of Bangladesh is a domestic war crimes court established to prosecute individuals for atrocities committed during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. It is an institution created under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973 (Act XIX of 1973), which was originally enacted on July 20, 1973, to address genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other crimes under international law. The Act was largely dormant for decades but was revived and the first Tribunal was operationalized in 2010 following the Awami League's 2008 election pledge to try war criminals.
The ICT functions as a special domestic tribunal, not an international court like the ICC, and its judgments are appealable to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. A key mechanism of the original Act was the insertion of Article 47(3) and Article 47A into the Constitution via the First Amendment in 1973, which barred accused persons from challenging the law on the grounds of inconsistency with fundamental rights. The Act's Section 23 also rendered the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, and the Evidence Act, 1872, inapplicable to its proceedings.
The ICT has undergone significant recent changes, particularly with the International Crimes Tribunal (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024 (Ordinance No. XIV of 2024), promulgated on November 24, 2024. These amendments modernized the law by aligning definitions of crimes against humanity with Article 7 of the Rome Statute and criminalizing acts like enforced disappearances. The revised Act also expanded jurisdiction to include military and law enforcement personnel and introduced the concept of Command Responsibility. While the amendments aim to meet international standards, the retention of the death penalty and concerns over judicial expertise remain. The Tribunal's mandate has also recently expanded beyond 1971 crimes to include prosecuting figures connected to the July-August 2024 political upheaval.