THE SECOND DECADE – Analysis of War Crimes Trials in the Period 2014-2024

Early July 2024 marked the passage of twenty years since the establishment of institutions specialized in prosecuting war crimes in Serbia. The second decade of war crimes prosecution was marked by the political relativization of responsibility—both political and criminal—for crimes committed during the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. The dissolution of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) following the completion of its mandate, and the state’s shift in focus towards negotiations for European Union (EU) membership, have further pushed the issue of punishing human rights violations from the 1990s to the margins.

The optimism expressed in the Analysis of War Crimes Processing in Serbia from 2004 to 2013, regarding the improvement of institutional performance in this field through the development and consistent implementation of goals set forth in strategic documents, was betrayed. The adopted strategies for dealing with war crimes, both the National and the Prosecutorial ones, exposed the institutions’ lack of preparedness and weakness in taking steps that lead to more effective war crimes prosecution.

Position of victims of sexual violence in court proceedings in the Republic of Serbia

Analyses and recommendations for amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code and the Law on Civil Procedure of the Republic of Serbia

Through decades of monitoring and analyzing war crimes trials in Serbia, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) has identified shortcomings in the normative framework concerning the support and protection of witnesses and victims in criminal proceedings, particularly in cases involving sexual violence in wartime. These gaps and inadequate legal solutions, as well as certain inconsistencies with international standards, were confirmed through a consultative process conducted by the HLC to examine the rights and position of sexual violence victims in judicial proceedings.

Sexual Violence in War – An Analysis of Cases before Courts in Serbia (2003-2024)

Since its establishment in 2003, the Public Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor (POWCP) of the Republic of Serbia has issued 106 indictments against individuals for crimes committed during the wars in the former Yugoslavia. Only 13 indictments filed include incidents of sexual violence, which indicates that in the previous practice of the domestic judiciary, sexual violence was rarely prosecuted, and when prosecuted it was most often considered as a war crime that occurs alongside murder and other physical violence. Considering the prevalence of rape and other forms of sexual violence in armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, it is clear that the domestic judiciary has not paid due attention to these crimes.

The prevalence of sexual violence was one of the reasons for the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), whose practice today represents a standard in prosecuting these crimes. More than a third of all those convicted before the ICTY have also been convicted of crimes of sexual violence. Nevertheless, although the work of the ICTY represents a milestone in the prosecution of sexual and gender-based violence in war, the achievements of that court have not been significantly incorporated into the work of the domestic judiciary.

Policy Paper: Wartime rape as a crime against humanity

The practice of international criminal tribunals has set the standard for prosecuting rape and sexual violence in war. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) have recognised that such acts, when committed in the context of a systematic and widespread attack against the civilian population, may qualify as crimes against humanity.

A crime against humanity is a criminal offence that includes serious acts such as murder, persecution, torture, rape, etc, committed as part of a systematic and widespread attack on the civilian population. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can also be committed in peacetime. To date, no person has been charged with this crime before Serbian courts.

Policy paper: Application of aggravating and mitigating circumstances in war crimes trials

By August 2024, 68 war crimes proceedings were conducted and finalised before the Higher Court in Belgrade as a court of first instance and the Court of Appeal in Belgrade as a court of second instance. In these proceedings, 95 persons were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to twenty years for war crimes against civilians and war crimes against prisoners of war. The purpose of war crimes trials is to establish a complete factual picture in order to individualise the guilt of persons charged with criminal offences, adequately punish those found guilty, and achieve justice for victims. Therefore, identifying aggravating and mitigating circumstances for deciding the length of prison sentences proves to be particularly significant.

Report on the implementation of the National Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes (2021–2026)

The National Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes for the Period 2021–2026 was adopted in October 2021.1 In addition to monitoring and analysis of war crimes trials in Serbia, the HLC monitors and reports on the state of implementation of the National Strategy and its achievements in order to assist in the qualitative and quantitative assessment of the measures and activities set forth in the Strategy.

This report on the implementation of the National Strategy (2021–2026) covers the period from mid-October 2021 to 1 May 2024 and is the continuation of the reports published by the HLC during the implementation of the (first) National Strategy for the Prosecution of war Crimes for the Period 2016–2020.

The Official Commemoration of the War Year 1991 in Croatia: Analysis and Recommendations

The document titled „Official Commemoration of the War Year 1991 in Croatia: Analysis and Recommendations“ provides an in-depth analysis of how Croatia officially commemorated the events of 1991, marking 30 years since the war began. Despite the fact it is almost three decades since the end of the conflict, the war remains a central element of the Republic of Croatia’s identity. The authorities place a significant emphasis on commemorating the start of the war, especially focusing on 1991.

REPORT ON WAR CRIMES TRIALS IN SERBIA DURING 2023

The HLC has monitored all war crimes trials conducted in the territory of Serbia in 2023, namely a total of 27 cases conducted before the War Crimes Departments of the Higher Court and the Court of Appeal in Belgrade. For each of the cases, the Report provides an overview of the proceedings and the HLC’s basic findings which are of public relevance. A large number of the war crimes cases covered by this Report have been ongoing for a several years, hence the previous HLC’s annual trial reports are also relevant for a full grasp of the course of the proceedings and the pertinent HLC findings.

The report focuses on the work of the Public Prosecutor’s Office for War Crimes (POWCP) and of the courts in those parts of the judicial proceedings open to the public, primarily by analysing the indictments and the judgments in each case. An analysis of the work of other bodies involved in the prosecution of war crimes – the War Crimes Investigation Service of the Serbian Ministry of the Interior (MUP), the Witness Protection Unit and others, cannot be undertaken in respect of the individual cases, as no information on their activities is publicly available.

Dossier: “Svetozar Andrić”

During the armed conflict in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Svetozar Andrić served as the commander of the 1st Birač Infantry Brigade of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS), and, after July 1995, as the Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Drina Corps of the VRS.

The evidence presented in this Dossier indicates that, from May 1992, when Andrić ordered the “expulsion of the Muslim population” from the Zvornik municipality and the establishment of the Sušica camp in Vlasenica1, members of the Birač Brigade, independently or in cooperation with other military and police units, committed numerous crimes in municipalities within the brigade’s zone of responsibility. The Dossier also presents evidence of Svetozar Andrić’s role in the genocide committed in Srebrenica in July 1995.

Ready for Memory Wars: The Case of the HOS Memorial Plaque in Croatia

This paper focuses on Croatia and the use of hate speech and controversial symbols for the maintenance of symbolic boundaries, the reinforcement of a one-sided version of the past, and the mobilization of voters. The presence and use of the Ustaša salutation, “Ready for the Homeland” (Za dom spremni – ZDS) is a consistent example of those tendencies. In recent years, the salutation has become increasingly intertwined with the legacies of World War Two and the 1990s Croatian War of Independence, while simultaneously reflecting the rise of nationalism and radical-right parties and movements in Croatia as well as abroad. The paper presents insights into the ways ZDS is used to reify national identity, while centering around some of the main actors perpetuating this dynamic, such as politicians and war veterans. Accordingly, it focuses primarily on the case of the memorial plaque erected in 2016 by former members of the Croatian Defence Forces paramilitary unit, which included the ZDS salutation. At one point threatening to topple the government, the case demonstrates how the salute is used to maintain the dominant narrative of the Homeland War.