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Bosnia represents an advance that may be worth considering in other contexts. As a hybrid court organized under domestic law, the chamber was thoughtfully designed to enhance local capacity in ways that would endure after international participants were phased out. In particular, the BWCC is the first hybrid court that was designed from the outset to become a fully national court after a period of progressively diminishing international participation. 921 As noted earlier, the participation of international actors, particularly those with previous experience at the ICTY, is widely thought to have helped prepare their domestic counterparts to apply international humanitarian law as well as international standards of fair process. But in a country still deeply riven along ethnic lines and whose judiciary has long been subject to political pressures, international judges, prosecutors, and other staff have served another role that is equally important: They have helped assure that the BWCC is impartial and insulated from political pressures. Although journalist Nidžara Ahmetašević doubts whether international judges in the Court of BiH are overall more competent than the Bosnian judges, she believes that their presence is crucial in preventing political interference and assuring impartiality. 922 And as Chief Prosecutor of BiH Milorad Barašin observed: “It’s extremely important to have international judges for perceptions of neutrality [on the part of] common people.” 923 There is another dimension, Barašin added. Describing the dynamic within the SDWC, Barašin—who is ethnically Serb—told us that a Bosniak colleague “would prefer to say everything he knows to an international colleague than to me.” 924 Thus in societies emerging from ethnic violence, international staff may inject a crucial dynamic not only in the public eye but also within judicial institutions. At a time when it had been envisaged that Bosnia’s war crimes institutions could operate without international judges and staff, the need for their participation remained strong in light of myriad factors, including what one study termed “the current political climate in the country.” 925 Thus, on Dec. 14, 2009, the High Representative for BiH extended the mandate of international judges and prosecutors working on war crimes cases for a further three years. 926 The decision followed the failure of the Bosnian Parliament to amend the relevant legislation in a way that would allow for continued participation of internationals in the work of the SDWC and in the BWCC. Bosnian Serb members of the Bosnian Parliamentary Assembly opposed unanimously their continued presence and blocked adoption of the law. 927 Indeed, RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik has repeatedly claimed that the ongoing involvement of international judges and prosecutors threatens the legitimacy of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a sovereign state, while his opponents dismiss the rhetoric as an attempt to head off corruption allegations that have been leveled against him. 928 Although the BWCC has faced and continues to confront a raft of difficult challenges, it has emerged as a model for transitional justice efforts elsewhere. 929 Within Bosnia, the chamber is one of “the strongest state institution[s] we have,” in the view of journalist Nidžara Ahmetašević—and one that is playing an important role in Bosnians’ ongoing process of reck- 132 IMPACT ON DOMESTIC WAR CRIMES PROSECUTIONS
oning with the dark pages of its recent past. 930 Although the challenges ahead require serious attention, the BWCC already stands as one of the most significant of the ICTY’s legacies in Bosnia. THAT SOMEONE GUILTY BE PUNISHED 133
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That Someone Guilty Be Punished The
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That Someone Guilty Be Punished The
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Table of Contents Acknowledgments 7
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Acknowledgments Diane Orentlicher,
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Methodology This report draws upon
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I. Introduction On May 25, 1993, th
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Victims’ Justice The Security Cou
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in the . Srebrenica genocide. Many
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Journalist Nidžara Ahmetašević r
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survive “ethnic cleansing.” Muh
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ings [of Bosnia’s judiciary were]
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from territories under Serb control
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C. Peace and Justice If the ICTY fa
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groups are approximately the same s
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F. Cooperation by Bosnian Authoriti
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Women [who were captured by Serb so
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Tribunal’s expressive function in
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We found this view to be nearly uni
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Branko Todorović, who heads the He
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full establishment of healthy and c
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Sali-Teržić believes that justice
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committed war crimes, a notion that
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J. “Justice Isn’t Just in Legal
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Vehid Šehić, who believes the ICT
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Because our own research did not in
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imposed on two other perpetrators c
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feared it would be reduced to half
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Enumerating victims’ frustrations
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While some of our Bosnian interlocu
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2. Biljana Plavšić On October 2,
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Others interviewed during the same
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executions, the execution in Korić
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D. Significant Verdicts, Other Ruli
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at least 2012; another, Ratko Mladi
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could be legally attributed to Serb
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Hasečić leads, the Association of
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ings … went before any expectatio
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enica survivor Kada Hotić describe
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they are in the shadow of Karadži
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First, individuals who had been for
Page 84 and 85: Kovačević, who was under indictme
Page 86 and 87: says it was “not the major reason
Page 88 and 89: their names are not publicly disclo
Page 91 and 92: V. Truth and Acknowledgment The off
Page 93 and 94: A. Acknowledging and Condemning Atr
Page 95 and 96: We encountered another brand of non
Page 97 and 98: Herzegovina that only serves to cau
Page 99 and 100: 3. Acknowledgement on the part of o
Page 101 and 102: More generally, Bosnians’ percept
Page 103 and 104: is standard procedure for prosecuto
Page 105 and 106: crimes occurred and meet with local
Page 107 and 108: Srd¯an Dizdarević believes that t
Page 109 and 110: VI. Impact on Domestic War Crimes P
Page 111 and 112: But if his words seemed to invite s
Page 113 and 114: Rules of the Road In the aftermath
Page 115 and 116: Responding to a question about the
Page 117 and 118: In examining the results and prospe
Page 119 and 120: the ICTY’s strategy for completin
Page 121 and 122: a. Rule 11 bis cases While Rule 11
Page 123 and 124: ut the documentation is still in th
Page 125 and 126: December 2006, Vaso Marinković, th
Page 127 and 128: tional judges and prosecutors are n
Page 129 and 130: The ICTY prosecuted just one person
Page 131 and 132: In recent years, state authorities
Page 133: in the late 1990s, as it finally be
Page 138 and 139: 9. Interview with Fadil Budnjo, pre
Page 140 and 141: 38. As we note in Chapter VI, then
Page 142 and 143: 58. Richard J. Goldstone, For Human
Page 144 and 145: 84. In 1997, the Peace Implementati
Page 146 and 147: the Security Council, S/2005/781, D
Page 148 and 149: 135. Interview with Mirsad Duratovi
Page 150 and 151: 160. The ICTY prosecutor issued the
Page 152 and 153: 2009; Patrice C. McMahon and Jon We
Page 154 and 155: 221. An example of such an individu
Page 156 and 157: izručenje” (“Most RS Citizens
Page 158 and 159: 267. In November 2001, Dragan Kolun
Page 160 and 161: Families of Missing, Forcibly Detai
Page 162 and 163: vict’s sentence, including “the
Page 164 and 165: 348. See Marlise Simons, “Crossin
Page 166 and 167: 379. See Judith Armatta, “Srebren
Page 168 and 169: 2001 and was based on U.S. federal
Page 170 and 171: 426. Interview with Kada Hotić, vi
Page 172 and 173: 467. The average length of trials c
Page 174 and 175: 495. Gideon Boas and Timothy L.H. M
Page 176 and 177: estored to them. The early return o
Page 178 and 179: 561. Murselović recalled that at t
Page 180 and 181: other charges. See Marlise Simons,
Page 182 and 183: of the Convention on the Prevention
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admit to the existence of war crimi
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681. “Controversial group in Sreb
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and disruption of war and immediate
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Herzegovina, 46 Colum J. Transnat
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729. International Crisis Group, Wa
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Change, Analysts Say,” New York T
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tation of the Peace Agreement to th
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Republika Srpska (31.9%). See South
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798. E-mail communication with Pipi
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822. As of July 2009, all but one o
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as “horrible,” while noting tha
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Jails Overflow,” BIRN’s Justice
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sarily devoted mainly to prosecutin
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Open Society Justice Initiative The
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When the United Nations Security Co
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