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Publications: Crime and Punishment

Selma Boračić

29 November 2006  Selma Boracic reviews a new book on the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, published by the Open Society Fund and the tribunal itself.

Almost 10 years after the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) pronounced its first verdict for war crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a complete overview of its work has been made available to the public,

Crime and Punishment, which contains an overview of war crimes trials conducted since the creation of the tribunal until the present day, was published jointly by the Open Society Fund BiH and the ICTY's Outreach Programme.

The book provides detailed information on ICTY trials for war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia between 1992 and 1995.

ICTY prosecutors have so far indicted 161 people, and verdicts have been handed down for 94 indictees. Crime and Punishment, however, focuses only on 48 completed cases that deal exclusively with crimes committed on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Although the ICTY was established back in 1993, it was only in late 2000 that it made all trials open to the general public via internet broadcasting.

That was the time when the ICTY began providing more information about its work and decisions to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Six years on, it has published Crime and Punishment in what may be seen as another attempt to inform and involve the Bosnian public with its work to date.

Written in plain, easy to understand language, the book presents details of the 48 completed cases, including the most important parts of the indictments. Each case is comprehensively reviewed, starting from the date the indictment was issued to the point when an indictee was either transferred to serve his or her prison sentence or was released.

Apart from finished trials, the publication also provides information about 38 other cases - 17 that are in the preliminary hearing stage, seven ongoing trials, ten going through the appeals process, and four public indictments against persons still at large.

The publication also includes introductory texts written by experts in the field of international humanitarian law, such as Arieh Neyer, the chairman of the Open Society Institute; Mirko Klarin, the founder of the Sense press agency that monitors all ICTY trials; and officials of the Bosnian prosecutor's office and the ICTY.

In his introduction, Neyer outlines the ICTY's successes and weaknesses and notes that its biggest shortcomings to date have been the continued absence of fugitive Bosnian Serb indictees General Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, and the court's slow pace.

"Related to this is the idea to give satisfaction to the victims and thereby restore to the entire country the feeling that justice does exist. Obvious shortcomings are the fact that Mladic and Karadzic have not yet been put on trial and that no action has been taken against many perpetrators," Neyer said.

Klarin stresses the importance of the ICTY in establishing that guilt for war crimes is individual, not collective.

"Had no one (individually) been blamed for this, the responsibility would have remained at the collective level -- it would have been 'Serb,' 'Bosniak' and 'Croat' responsibility," he wrote.

While interesting, the book falls short in that it does not explain several key events.

For example, the publication says that the tribunal decided to grant early release to five indictees - Stevan Todorovic, Anto Furudzija, Mian Simic, Miroslav Kvocka, and Zdravko Mucic - but it does not cite the reasons why such rulings were made. There is also no explanation given for the appeals chamber's decision to reduce first instance sentences for nine accused and increase sentences for two others. Also missing is information about the trials of five indictees who were acquitted on all counts in the indictment.

The publication, which is written in the Bosnian language, provides insight into the ICTY's operations and will primarily be of use to lawyers and court officials.

Local courts may use it to analyze verdicts for certain crimes and as an introduction to ongoing trials before the ICTY.

Its goal is to inform the public about all individual cases, which is what makes it useful to journalists with special interest in the subject of war crimes. It is easy to use and may serve as excellent archival material.

It may also be of use to the nongovernmental sector as it provides accurate data on individual cases and insight into the ICTY's operations.

Cases are presented in a simple and comprehensible fashion, enabling all those who cannot follow the proceedings via the internet to get acquainted with the past and ongoing ICTY trials.

Crime and Punishment: Trials Conducted Before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for War Crimes Committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Editor: Dario Novalic
Publisher: Open Society Fund BiH, in cooperation with the Outreach Programme of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Published 2006 in Sarajevo.