Forum where justice is administered, usually by a panel of judges. The term tribunal is broader than the term “court [1]”, as it may refer to an administrative, rather than a judicial, body. The latter typically afford a greater range of judicial guarantees [2]. “Tribunal” can also be used to designate a specific kind of court which has authority on a special matter. For example: International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [3] or the International Military Tribunal for the Far East [4].
Art. 5 of the Third Geneva Convention, requires that, in case of doubt, the status [5] of an individual who committed a belligerent act and who is in the hands of the enemy be determined by a tribunal. This does not have to be a court.
See Court [1];
determination of status of POW in case of doubt
GCIII, 5 [7]
Determination of status
GC III, Art. 5: [8] determination by a competent tribunal of the status of person who committed a belligerent act and have fallen in the hands of the enemy
AP 1, Art. 45 [9] : protection of persons who have taken part in hostilities (determination of their status by a competent tribunal)
Occupation (subheading)
GC IV, Art. 64 [10]: “tribunals of the occupied territory shall continue to function”
Links
[1] https://casebook.icrc.org/glossary/court
[2] https://casebook.icrc.org/glossary/judicial-guarantees
[3] https://casebook.icrc.org/glossary/international-criminal-tribunal-former-yugoslavia
[4] https://www.icrc.org/ihl/INTRO/350?OpenDocument
[5] https://casebook.icrc.org/glossary/status
[6] https://casebook.icrc.org/law/combatants-and-pows#ii_1
[7] https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Article.xsp?action=openDocument&documentId=B243E5B9DC2F3C13C12563CD0051AAD7
[8] https://www.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Article.xsp?action=openDocument&documentId=B243E5B9DC2F3C13C12563CD0051AAD7
[9] https://www.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Article.xsp?action=openDocument&documentId=DD198B7E9C5EE792C12563CD0051DBE5
[10] https://www.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Article.xsp?action=openDocument&documentId=6DB876FD94A28530C12563CD0051BEF8
[11] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/united-states-hamdan-v-rumsfeld
[12] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/united-states-jurisprudence-related-bombing-uss-cole
[13] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/uncolombia-human-rights-committee-clarifications-and-concluding-observations-2016