Serbian MPs are today debating a draft law on cooperation with the International Criminal Court, to which 37 amendments have been proposed. Normatively speaking, the draft law comprehensively governs the sector of cooperation between Serbia and the International Criminal Court.
Posts Tagged ‘Hague’
Tribunal rejects Karadžić motion again
July 23rd, 2009 |
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The Hague Tribunal has rejected Radovan Karadžić’s appeal against its initial decision to reject his motion to exclude one of the judges in his trial.
The decision to turn down Karadžić’s initial motion for the exclusion of Judge Michele Picard on the basis of her alleged partiality in the case, was taken on May 18 by South Korean Judge O-Gon Kwon.
Sudan welcomes oil border ruling
July 22nd, 2009 |
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Judges in The Hague have ruled that the boundaries of Sudan’s disputed oil-rich region of Abyei should be redrawn.
The region is claimed by both north and south Sudan, and became a flashpoint in a long-running civil conflict.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration decided not to accept the boundaries drawn up as part of a 2005 peace deal, which were rejected by the north.
It ruled that the eastern and western borders of Abyei should be redrawn, reducing the size of the region.
The effect of the ruling on the region’s northern boundary is not immediately clear.
Fears of violence
The Hague court decided on where Abyei’s borders lie rather than who owns the land.
Analysts say the size of Abyei is crucial as its inhabitants will be asked in a referendum in 2011 whether they want to be a part of north or south Sudan – and are likely to opt for a union with the south.
The north had rejected the boundaries proposed by the 2005 peace deal because they were thought to make the region too big.
UN peacekeepers have beefed up their presence in Abyei amid fears that a controversial ruling could spark violence.
The issue was referred to The Hague court last year after clashes broke out in Abyei town, killing about 100 people and forcing tens of thousands to flee.
The main parties in north and south Sudan have pledged to abide by the court ruling.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Srebrenica families to sue Hague Tribunal
July 21st, 2009 |
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The families of the Srebrenica genocide victims say they will sue Hague Tribunal officials responsible for the destruction of articles found in mass graves. The announcement comes after the Hague prosecution admitted that around 1,000 pieces of evidence linked to the genocide in Srebrenica had been destroyed.
Bosnian Serbs guilty of burnings
July 20th, 2009 |
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Two Bosnian Serb military commanders have been found guilty of burning alive 140 civilians, including women and children, during the Bosnian civil war.
Cousins Milan and Sredoje Lukic were members of a paramilitary group called the White Eagles, or the Avengers.
They were accused of murder, persecution, extermination and other inhumane acts against Bosnian Muslims near Visegrad between 1992 and 1994.
Judges at The Hague jailed Milan Lukic for life, and Sredoje to 30 years.
The cousins had denied the charges at their trial, which ended in May.
But the court ruled that the men locked up about 140 women, children and elderly men in two houses – both in or near the eastern Bosnian town of Visegrad – before setting fire to them.
All those who tried to escape were shot.
Ethnic cleansing
The judges described the murders as "callous" and "vicious".
Milan Lukic went on the run for seven years after being indicted on war crimes charges, but was arrested in Argentina in August 2005 and was handed over to The Hague tribunal after being extradited.
Sredoje Lukic surrendered to Bosnian Serb authorities the following month.
The charge sheet asserted that Milan Lukic led the White Eagles paramilitary force.
Prosecutors told the tribunal that the group carried out a campaign of ethnic cleaning.
One prosecutor, Dermot Groome, said the cousins took part in a "widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population."
In 2005, Milan and Sredoje Lukic were two of the Hague tribunal’s top fugitives.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Šešelj contempt of court verdict on Friday
July 20th, 2009 |
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The Hague Tribunal will give its verdict on Friday, July 24, regarding the contempt of court charges against Vojislav Šešelj. The Serb Radical Party (SRS) leader is first person indicted for war crimes who was also charged with contempt during his trial.
Lukić cousins get life, 30 years in jail
July 20th, 2009 |
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The Hague Tribunal has found guilty and sentenced Milan Lukić to life in prison, while his cousin Sredoje Lukić was handed down 30 years in jail. The Bosnian Serbs were tried for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims in Višegrad during the 1992-1995 war.
Karadžić to appeal latest court ruling
July 17th, 2009 |
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Radovan Karadžić will appeal a decision by the Hague Tribunal trial chamber to turn down his earlier motion for the charges against him to be dropped. The former Bosnian Serb leader’s motion was based on his claim that he was granted immunity in 1996 in an agreement signed with U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke.
Hague president to meet with judiciary top brass
July 17th, 2009 |
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Hague Tribunal President Patrick Robinson will meet on Friday with senior Serbian judiciary officials. He will be meeting with Belgrade District Court President Siniša Važić and judges from the war crimes trial chamber.
Hague president: Serbia’s desire evident
July 16th, 2009 |
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Hague Tribunal President Patrick Robinson says that Serbia’s desire to improve relations is noticeable, commending the work of the Serbian judiciary. “The work of the Serbian courts and the readiness of the judges to deal with very tough cases, regardless of the consequences on the political scene, should be commended,†Robinson said after meeting with Supreme Court President Nata Mesarović in his first visit to Serbia.
Hague OKs medical treatment for Gen. Lazarević
July 15th, 2009 |
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The Hague Tribunal has extended the medical treatment period for retired Yugoslav Army (VJ) General Vladimir Lazarević for a second time. Lazarević was sentenced to 15 years in prison for crimes committed against Kosovo Albanians.
Hague judges to visit Belgrade
July 14th, 2009 |
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A delegation of Hague Tribunal judges led by Court President Patrick Robinson will be in Belgrade on July 16-17, according to the Serbian Supreme Court. During the two-day visit, the judges will be meeting with senior Serbian judiciary officials to discuss current issues regarding cooperation between Serbia and the war crimes tribunal.
Solana: No new conditions
July 14th, 2009 |
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Besides full cooperation with the Hague, there are no other conditions in Serbia’s Euro-integration process, says EU High Representative Javier Solana. In an interview with B92, Javier Solana said that for Serbia’s European integration, the only thing necessary for Hague Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz to state in his report to the UN Security Council was that full cooperation had been achieved with the court.
Liberia’s Charles Taylor to deny war crimes
July 13th, 2009 |
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Former president stands accused at The Hague of murder, rape and torture during Sierra Leone civil war
Lawyers for the former president of Liberia Charles Taylor, who stands accused of leading a systematic campaign of murder, rape and torture during the civil war in Sierra Leone, will today claim he was “not involved”, and that he “was a peacemaker, not a warmonger”.
The 61-year old’s defence began this morning at the UN-backed special court for Sierra Leone in The Hague, where he denies charges that include enlisting and drugging child soldiers, enforcing sexual slavery and commanding and arming rebels from his presidential palace, in Monrovia, during the 11-year conflict, which ended in 2002.
Taylor, the first African head of state to be tried by an international court, has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges in a hearing that has 91 witnesses since January 2007. His defence is being led by Courtenay Griffiths, a British lawyer. Taylor will take the stand tomorrow for what is expected to be several weeks of testimony in his own defence.
The court has already heard witness testimony of radio exchanges between Taylor and the rebels, arms smuggled from Liberia to Sierra Leone in sacks of rice, and diamonds sent back in a mayonnaise jar. One former aide said he had seen Taylor eat a human liver.
“We say, and have said all along, that they are lying,” Griffiths said of the prosecution witnesses. “His case is that he was not involved – that he was a peacemaker, not a warmonger.”
The defence team has a list of more than 200 witnesses, including unnamed former African heads of state and high-ranking UN officials. Griffiths will argue that Taylor was asked by the 15-member Economic Community of West African States and the UN to help halt the atrocities in Sierra Leone.
Some 500,000 people are estimated to have been killed or systematically mutilated, or to have suffered other atrocities, in Sierra Leone’s civil war.
Some of the worst crimes were carried out by gangs of child soldiers given drugs to desensitise them to the horror of their actions. Taylor is accused of arming them in exchange for diamonds.
Taylor was forced into exile after being indicted in 2003, and was finally arrested in Nigeria in 2006. He was sent for trial in The Hague because officials feared staging the case in Sierra Leone could spark further violence.
He boycotted the start of his trial, in June 2007, and fired his attorney, holding up proceedings until January 2008, when prosecutors called their first witness.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Liberia’s Charles Taylor to deny war crimes
July 13th, 2009 |
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Former president stands accused at The Hague of murder, rape and torture during Sierra Leone civil war
Lawyers for the former president of Liberia Charles Taylor, who stands accused of leading a systematic campaign of murder, rape and torture during the civil war in Sierra Leone, will today claim he was “not involved”, and that he “was a peacemaker, not a warmonger”.
The 61-year old’s defence began this morning at the UN-backed special court for Sierra Leone in The Hague, where he denies charges that include enlisting and drugging child soldiers, enforcing sexual slavery and commanding and arming rebels from his presidential palace, in Monrovia, during the 11-year conflict, which ended in 2002.
Taylor, the first African head of state to be tried by an international court, has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges in a hearing that has 91 witnesses since January 2007. His defence is being led by Courtenay Griffiths, a British lawyer. Taylor will take the stand tomorrow for what is expected to be several weeks of testimony in his own defence.
The court has already heard witness testimony of radio exchanges between Taylor and the rebels, arms smuggled from Liberia to Sierra Leone in sacks of rice, and diamonds sent back in a mayonnaise jar. One former aide said he had seen Taylor eat a human liver.
“We say, and have said all along, that they are lying,” Griffiths said of the prosecution witnesses. “His case is that he was not involved – that he was a peacemaker, not a warmonger.”
The defence team has a list of more than 200 witnesses, including unnamed former African heads of state and high-ranking UN officials. Griffiths will argue that Taylor was asked by the 15-member Economic Community of West African States and the UN to help halt the atrocities in Sierra Leone.
Some 500,000 people are estimated to have been killed or systematically mutilated, or to have suffered other atrocities, in Sierra Leone’s civil war.
Some of the worst crimes were carried out by gangs of child soldiers given drugs to desensitise them to the horror of their actions. Taylor is accused of arming them in exchange for diamonds.
Taylor was forced into exile after being indicted in 2003, and was finally arrested in Nigeria in 2006. He was sent for trial in The Hague because officials feared staging the case in Sierra Leone could spark further violence.
He boycotted the start of his trial, in June 2007, and fired his attorney, holding up proceedings until January 2008, when prosecutors called their first witness.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Liberia’s Charles Taylor to deny war crimes
July 13th, 2009 |
No Comments
Former president stands accused at The Hague of murder, rape and torture during Sierra Leone civil war
Lawyers for the former president of Liberia Charles Taylor, who stands accused of leading a systematic campaign of murder, rape and torture during the civil war in Sierra Leone, will today claim he was “not involved”, and that he “was a peacemaker, not a warmonger”.
The 61-year old’s defence began this morning at the UN-backed special court for Sierra Leone in The Hague, where he denies charges that include enlisting and drugging child soldiers, enforcing sexual slavery and commanding and arming rebels from his presidential palace, in Monrovia, during the 11-year conflict, which ended in 2002.
Taylor, the first African head of state to be tried by an international court, has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges in a hearing that has 91 witnesses since January 2007. His defence is being led by Courtenay Griffiths, a British lawyer. Taylor will take the stand tomorrow for what is expected to be several weeks of testimony in his own defence.
The court has already heard witness testimony of radio exchanges between Taylor and the rebels, arms smuggled from Liberia to Sierra Leone in sacks of rice, and diamonds sent back in a mayonnaise jar. One former aide said he had seen Taylor eat a human liver.
“We say, and have said all along, that they are lying,” Griffiths said of the prosecution witnesses. “His case is that he was not involved – that he was a peacemaker, not a warmonger.”
The defence team has a list of more than 200 witnesses, including unnamed former African heads of state and high-ranking UN officials. Griffiths will argue that Taylor was asked by the 15-member Economic Community of West African States and the UN to help halt the atrocities in Sierra Leone.
Some 500,000 people are estimated to have been killed or systematically mutilated, or to have suffered other atrocities, in Sierra Leone’s civil war.
Some of the worst crimes were carried out by gangs of child soldiers given drugs to desensitise them to the horror of their actions. Taylor is accused of arming them in exchange for diamonds.
Taylor was forced into exile after being indicted in 2003, and was finally arrested in Nigeria in 2006. He was sent for trial in The Hague because officials feared staging the case in Sierra Leone could spark further violence.
He boycotted the start of his trial, in June 2007, and fired his attorney, holding up proceedings until January 2008, when prosecutors called their first witness.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
President, PM call for respect for victims
July 11th, 2009 |
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Boris Tadić stated that for the sake of the victims of Srebrenica but also other victims, those who committed war crimes must be in the Hague Tribunal. The president said on Saturday in Belgrade that Serbia is committed to cooperation with the tribunal and is doing everything to finalize it, not only because it is “our legal obligation”, but also “for our own sakes and the sake of reconciliation between peoples and a more prosperous life in the Balkans”.