International Court of Justice Decision
In the case of Bosnia v. Serbia
February 2007
The Court finds
that Serbia has violated its obligation under the Genocide Convention to prevent genocide in Srebrenica and that it has also violated its obligations under the Convention by having failed fully to co-operate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Press Release
Summary of the Judgment of 26 February 2007 (PDF)
Judgment of 26 February 2007 (PDF)
Opinion of the Court's Vice President
- Dissent from the Court's decision not to find Serbia guilty of genocide. (PDF)
Commentary:
Peter Lippman Marko Hoare
Martin Shaw
Anthony Dworkin
Martin Shaw's reply to Anthony Dworkin
How Belgrade Escaped Genocide Charge Belgrade has more than once invoked national security to stop the Hague tribunal from sharing
with the International Court of Justice documents related to the trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic. It is widely believed that the transcripts, which record the meetings of top Serbian officials, contain evidence of Belgrade’s direct involvement in the wars in Croatia and Bosnia in the 1990s. Among the documents were files of the Bosnian Serb generals, including top fugitive General Ratko Mladic, who were on the Yugoslav army’s payroll during the war. By Slobodan Kostic, IWPR, February 15, 2008 (Republished May 2, 2008)
Vital Genocide Documents Concealed The former official spokeswoman for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia's chief prosecutor provides a systematic review of the way in which minutes of Serbia’s Supreme Defence Council, that might provide evidence against Serbia for genocide at Srebrenica, have been concealed by that same tribunal. As a result of her revelation, she has been charged with contempt of court by a trial chamber of the Tribunal. By Florence Hartmann, January 21, 2008
Call for Serbia to Release Confidential Documents Academics say they want disclosure so that Serbia’s role in the Bosnian war can be assessed objectively. By Merdijana Sadovic, IWPR, November 25, 2007
New Light Shed on Belgrade Role in Bosnian War
The International Court of Justice decided Serbia was not to blame for the genocide in Bosnia, but documents quietly published in Montenegro hint it may have been wrong. At the time, it seemed bizarre that the ICJ declined to demand minutes of Serbia’s Supreme Defence Council as evidence in the case, and a few glimpses of the transcripts in a new book make it look even more so. By Edina Becirevic, IWPR November 16, 2007 (Republished November 27, 2007)
Bosnia vs Serbia: The evidence scandal
Redacted documents confirm that Bosnian Serb political and army structures were under direct control by the Serbian government, who also gave them financial and logistical support. Evidence would have made Serbia liable for the Srebrenica genocide, and whenever the agenda turned to discussion of the financing of the Bosnian Serb army and personnel matters, as well as to Croatian Serb activities, the documents were blacked out in places. During the war in Bosnia, up to 4,000 officers on the Yugoslav Army payroll were serving in the Bosnian Serb Army. ISN Security Watch, International Relations and Security Network, April 24, 2007
Srebrenica Massacre Verdicts Spark Outrage Among Survivors The Advocacy Project, April 12, 2007
Genocide Court Ruled for Serbia Without Seeing Full War Archive This article comes at a particularly awkward moment for Belgrade, as it tries to invoke international legality as the reason why it should be allowed to hang on to Kosovo, at least
de jure if not de facto. By Marlise Simons, New York Times, April 9, 2007