Updated

The tribunal established to prosecute those most responsible for atrocities committed during Sierra Leone's 10-year civil war will soon deliver its final judgment and become the first international criminal tribunal to go out of business.

The court's president, Justice Shireen Avis Fisher, told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that the tribunal not only succeeded in prosecuting and convicting the worst perpetrators but it has become a model for bringing justice.

The council, in a presidential statement, commended the Special Court for Sierra Leone for its contribution to international criminal justice and to strengthening stability in Sierra Leone and the neighboring region.

Guatemala's U.N. Ambassador Gert Rosenthal, the council president, said later that members "were very pleased for once to get good news" about the outcome of a council resolution.