Abstract

This article proposes an analysis of the case law of the International Criminal Tribunals (ICTs), in particular the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Court (ICC). It traces the ways in which religious factors have influenced judicial decision making in these cases. The religious dimension is especially relevant with regard to case law involving the wanton destruction of cultural property and places of worship. It is also applicable in the case-law on crimes against humanity, since ICTs have also considered attacks on cultural heritage as acts of persecution, precisely because they are directed at a particular ethnic or religious group or minority