If Milosevic is to be tried, he has to be tried by a proper court, an impartial, properly constituted court which has international respect.

Pinter’s statement argues for due process and the legitimacy of international justice: even a widely condemned political leader should be judged only by a tribunal that is demonstrably impartial, properly constituted, and broadly respected. The emphasis is less on Milosevic’s innocence or guilt than on the credibility of the forum—suggesting that a trial perceived as politically motivated or procedurally flawed would undermine both the verdict and the wider project of international law. The quote reflects a civil-libertarian principle often invoked in contentious war-crimes cases: justice must not only be done but be seen to be done, especially when the defendant is a symbol in a geopolitical conflict.