Two well-known examples of ad hoc tribunals are the international criminal tribunals for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR). The ICTY was established in 1993 and is based in The Hague, The Netherlands. It is composed of 16 independent judges and deals with crimes committed after 1991. The ICTR was established in 1994 and is based in Arusha, Tanzania. It is also composed of 16 independent judges and looks at crimes committed between 1 January and 31 December 1994. Both of these tribunals were established by the United Nations Security Council to punish violations of international law (crimes against humanity, crimes of war and genocide) during the Yugoslavia conflict and the Rwanda genocide of the 1990s.

In 2000 Sierra Leone and the United Nations concluded an agreement and established a Special Court to prosecute both international and domestic crimes committed during the recent conflict in that country. The court is located in Freetown and it is composed of 8 independent judges. It is mandated to try those who bear the greatest responsibility for serious violations of international humanitarian law and Sierra Leonean law committed in the territory of Sierra Leone since 30 November 1996.

A similar tribunal was established in Cambodia to prosecute the Khmer Rouge after the conclusion of an agreement between the United Nations and the Cambodian government in 2003. In 2006   27 judges (both Cambodian and international) were appointed to look at violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed between 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979).

In 2000, the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) created the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit (SCIU) to investigate and prosecute cases in the District Court of Dili, East Timor's capital.

Enforced disappearances are not expressly qualified as crimes against humanity by the statute of any of these tribunals or courts. However, they may fall under the category of “other inhumane acts” included in the definition of crimes against humanity as set forth by the statutes, provided that they meet the requirement of “being part of a widespread and systematic practice”. Until now the ICTY has alluded to enforced disappearances in the context of the Yugoslavia conflict.