No Justice for Wartime Victims of Sexual Violence

The Higher Court in Belgrade War Crimes Department rendered a first instance judgment in the repeated trial of the Bijeljina II Case on November 24^th, 2015, acquitting Miodrag Živković once again of the charges related to the commission of a war crime against a civilian population. The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) emphasizes that this judgment represents part of the negative score of the national judiciary in the prosecution of cases of wartime sexual violence, and also a continuation of the practice of departing from the international standards set in such cases.

Trial for the Crime in Trnje – Justice Delayed is Justice Denied

Only two trial days have been held since the filing of the indictment for the war crime in the case of Trnje two years ago, while the Ministry of Defence has been refusing since the beginning of the trial to act on the final decision rendered by the Commissioner for  Information of Public Importance (Commissioner) and inform the public about the present status of the two defendants in the Serbian Army (VS). The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) emphasizes  that the delays in the beginning of the trial and the unlawful acts of the respective Ministry degrade the trials for the crimes committed during the nineteen-nineties and discourage victims who have been waiting for justice for 16 years now.

(srpski) Svedočenje žrtava na suđenju za zločin u Trnju

Why are war crimes trials in Serbia conducted away from the public eye?

The President of the Higher Court in Belgrade prohibited the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) from recording the public announcement of the first instance judgment in the Beli Manastir Case, without offering valid reasons for such a decision. This decision of the President of the Court represents a continuation of the practice of courts in Serbia of limiting public access to war crimes trials, thus significantly diminishing chances for a social dialogue and dealing with the crimes committed during 1990’s.

The Model Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes Presented

On April 23^rd 2015 the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) presented the Model Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes Committed during and in relation to the Armed Conflicts in the Former Yugoslavia (Model Strategy).

On Acquittal for the Crimes in Tenja

On 6 April 2015, the Trial Chamber of the War Crimes Department of the Higher Court in Belgrade (the Chamber) rendered a judgment finding Žarko Čubrilo not guilty of a war crime against civilians committed in the first half of July 1991 in Tenja (Republic of Croatia). The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) points out that the decision of the Chamber is based on an erroneous interpretation of key pieces of evidence and a disregard of the most important sections of the statements by eye-witnesses.

Discourses on war crimes trials in Serbia

The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) presented on 21st November 2014 the Analysis of media discourses on war crimes trials in Serbia 2003-2013 and the Analysis of political discourses on domestic war crimes trials in Serbia 2003-2013. The main findings of the analyses were presented by the author, Dr Katarina Ristić, a researcher at the University of Leipzig. Before that, HLC Executive Director Sandra Orlović in her introductory remarks stressed that the Serbian media reporting seldom represented the cathartic element that opens the broader social dialogue about the past, and that the institutions themselves also did not perceive the trials as something that can generate dealing with the past. Thus war crimes trials, the only functional mechanism of transitional justice in Serbia, are unable to fully contribute to dealing with the past in Serbia.

Towards Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes in Serbia – Session on Presentation of War Crimes Trials in Public

The fifth consultation session with regard to the production of a Draft Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes in Serbia was held on Friday November 21st, 2014, in the Media Centre in Belgrade. This meeting was dedicated to the presentation of war crimes trials in public.

Towards Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes in Serbia – Session on the Possibility of the Application of the Doctrine of Command Responsibility and Crimes Against Humanity For Crimes Committed in the 1990s

The fourth consultation session for the production of the Draft Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes in Serbia was held Monday November 17th, 2014, in the Library of the Humanitarian Law Center. The meeting was dedicated to the possibilities of applying command responsibility and crimes against humanity committed during the 1990s.

Towards Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes in Serbia – Session on the Protection of Witnesses and Victims of War Crimes

On Thursday, November 6th, 2014, in the Library of the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC), the third consultative session regarding the Draft Strategy for the War Crimes Trials in Serbia was held. The meeting was dedicated to the topic of protection of witnesses and victims of war crimes.