Model-Strategy-for-the-Prosecution-of-War-Crimes-Committed-during-and-in-relation-to-the-Armed-Conflicts-in-the-Former-Yugoslavia_za-web

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of pronouncing informal warnings, shall pronounce formal reprimands and sanction theparticipants of the proceedings who insult a witness during the examination, in accordancewith the CPC;b) When pronouncing the sentence or a reprimand to a participant in the proceedings, thePresiding Judge of the Higher Court Department chamber shall explain the reasons behindthe sanctioning of the conduct towards the injured party or witness;c) The judges of the Higher Court Department shall inform the Bar Associations regularly onpenalties pronounced to defense counsel, in accordance with Article 370, paragraph 3 of theCPC of the Republic of Serbia, and submit a disciplinary complaint to the Bar Associationagainst lawyers who violate;d) The Department for criminal defence in war crimes cases within the Ministry of Justice shall,as part of the training programme for defense lawyers, organize a special training programmeon victims’ rights and needs; 12Specific objective no. 2: The injured parties – victims of sexual abuse shall receive an effectiveprotection during the trial, in accordance with international standards.Activities:22a) The Ministry of Justice shall form a task force composed of the representatives of the Ministryof Justice, the Republic Public Prosecutor, the OWCP, the departments for war crimes of theHigher Court in Belgrade and the Court of Appeals in Belgrade and experts in the fields ofcriminal and criminal procedural law. The task force shall propose amendments to the CPCwhich would introduce special rules of evidence in the cases of sexual offences: i) a prohibitionon acceptance of earlier sexual conduct of the victim as evidence in the proceedings; ii) therule of evidence, by which for the proof of rape it is not necessary to corroborate it with otherevidence; and iii) the rule that the consent of the victim is not grounds for exemption fromresponsibility of the perpatrators, if the victim feared for their own life or the life of personsclose to them.b) The judges and prosecutors shall consistently apply mechanisms for the protection of witnessesand injured parties – victims of sexual violence.3.2. The measures of nonprocedural protection of witnessesThe measures of nonprocedural protection are applied to witnesses who, because of their testimonies,are exposed to threats to life, health and property, which are addressed to them personally or their family.Non-procedural witness protection is achieved through the use of regular institutional mechanismsfor the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms (non-procedural protection in thenarrow sense), and through the special protection programme in criminal proceedings (ProtectionProgramme). The legal framework for non-procedural protection is the CPC and the Law on theProtection of Participants in Criminal Proceedings.12 See section 6 on Defense for more information on the establishing of the Department for criminal defence inwar crimes cases within the Ministry of Justice and the jurisdiction of this body.Humanitarian Law Center
In the current practice of prosecuting war crimes in Serbia, it is evident that the measures ofnonprocedural protection do not achieve their purpose when it comes to insider witnesses – formeror active members of the armed forces of Republic of Serbia who participated and/or have knowledgeof the crimes committed, owing to the inconclusive legal framework and insufficient political supportfor this most vulnerable aspect of the prosecution of war crimes. Among the numerous problems thathinder an effective protection of insider witnesses and thus seriously threaten prosecuting the personsresponsible for committed war crimes, those that stand out are: an inadequate legal framework forthe protection of insider witnesses who do not enter into a protection programme, weak mechanismsfor the control and supervision of the witness protection programme, non-transparent and ad hocprocedures for the investigation of misconducts of members of Protection Unit, as well as the publicsupport of government representatives for war crimes suspects. The problems in the system for theprotection of insider witnesses in Serbia have been registered by several international institutions andorganizations. 13General objective: The lives, health and property of witnesses and insider witnesses shall be protectedby effective measures of non-procedural protection, in an atmosphere of clear political and public/social support for the participation of insider witnesses in the cases of war crimes.Specific objective no. 1: An effective mechanism of protection of witnesses and insider witnesseswho do not enter into a witness protection programme is established.Activities:a) The Ministry of Justice shall form a task force composed of representatives of the Ministryof Justice, the OWCP, the Higher Court Department and Appeals Court Department, theMinistry of the Interior and legal experts, who will: i) formulate amendments to Article102, paragraph 5 of the CPC, to introduce the obligation of the court and prosecutor to seekprotection from the police for witnesses who report being threatened during the proceedings,and their obligation to inform the participants of the proceedings of the measures taken;ii) the same task force will draft a Protocol on the procedure in cases of threats addressedto witnesses in war crimes cases; iii) review any further amendments to the CPC and otherregulations for the purpose of strengthening this component of witness protection.23b) The prosecutors, judges and the representatives of the Ministry of the Interior shall consistentlyapply the mechanisms established.Specific objective no. 2: A reliable, functional and viable witness Protection Programme shall beestablished.Activities:a) The Ministry of Justice shall form a task force composed of representatives of the Ministry ofJustice, the Ministry of the Interior and the Victims and Witnesses Section of the ICTY. Thetask force shall prepare amendments to the Law on the Protection of Participants in CriminalProceedings which will:13 Council of Europe, European Commission, European Parliament, OSCE and Amnesty International.Humanitarian Law Center
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Model-Strategy-for-the-Prosecution-of-War-Crimes-Committed-during-and-in-relation-to-the-Armed-Conflicts-in-the-Former-Yugoslavia_za-web

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