Croatia wraps up case at ICJ

Croatia has asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to decide that it has the jurisdiction to try Croatia’s suit against Serbia for alleged genocide from 1991–1995. At the end of this week’s hearing, British professor and lawyer Philip Sands, who represents Croatia, said that in the period 199–2004, the ICJ had decided on no fewer than six occasions that it had jurisdiction to try cases that Bosnia-Herzegovina filed against Serbia as the legal successor to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SRJ). Croatia wraps up case at ICJ Sands claimed that by finding in favor of Serbia, the court would be "overturning" its previous rulings. Serbia’s legal team disputes the court’s jurisdiction claiming that the SRJ was not a member of the UN at the time Croatia’s suit was filed, an essential condition when it comes to the court’s jurisdiction. The head of the Croatian legal team Ivan Simonovic pointed out that it was in the vital interests of Croatia that Serbia should “face responsibility for everything that Croatia suffered from 1991-1995”. Zagreb wants the court to find Serbia guilty for breaching the Convention on Genocide, and to order Serbia to punish all perpetrators, return cultural property, and pay reparations that would be decided on by the court. Simanovic pointed out that even though there had been certain progress in punishing the perpetrators and returning cultural property, Croatia was still “a long way” from being “satisfied.” The ICJ’s verdict is expected in the autumn. In the suit filed against the SRJ in 1999, Croatia claimed that Serbian authorities had been responsible for the “ethnic cleansing” of Croatian citizens, in the “form of genocide, because they had direct control of the activities of the armed forces, secret service members and various paramilitary brigades that committed crimes in the regions of Knin, eastern and western Slavonia, and Dalmatia.”

Croatia wraps up case at ICJ

Sands claimed that by finding in favor of Serbia, the court would be "overturning" its previous rulings.

Serbia’s legal team disputes the court’s jurisdiction claiming that the SRJ was not a member of the UN at the time Croatia’s suit was filed, an essential condition when it comes to the court’s jurisdiction.

The head of the Croatian legal team Ivan Šimonović pointed out that it was in the vital interests of Croatia that Serbia should “face responsibility for everything that Croatia suffered from 1991-1995”.

Zagreb wants the court to find Serbia guilty for breaching the Convention on Genocide, and to order Serbia to punish all perpetrators, return cultural property, and pay reparations that would be decided on by the court.

Šimanović pointed out that even though there had been certain progress in punishing the perpetrators and returning cultural property, Croatia was still “a long way” from being “satisfied.”

The ICJ’s verdict is expected in the autumn.

In the suit filed against the SRJ in 1999, Croatia claimed that Serbian authorities had been responsible for the “ethnic cleansing” of Croatian citizens, in the “form of genocide, because they had direct control of the activities of the armed forces, secret service members and various paramilitary brigades that committed crimes in the regions of Knin, eastern and western Slavonia, and Dalmatia.”