International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals

The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, usually shortened to IRMCT or the Mechanism, is an international court that the United Nations Security Council created in December 2010 through Resolution 1966. It exists to carry out the functions that remained after the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda finished their mandates, such as hearing petitions for early release by convicted persons, modifying protective orders for witnesses, and safeguarding confidential archives. The Mechanism works from two branches, one in Arusha, Tanzania, which took over the Rwanda tribunal functions in July 2012, and one in The Hague, Netherlands, which began operating in July 2013. Its judges are elected by the General Assembly from a roster prepared by the Security Council, serve four-year terms and work remotely wherever possible.