Serbia legal team talks Croatia genocide suit

Serbia's legal team is set to appear before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Croatian genocide lawsuit for the third time on Monday.

Izvor: B92

Sunday, 25.05.2008.

15:06

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Serbia's legal team is set to appear before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Croatian genocide lawsuit for the third time on Monday. Croatia alleged in its 1999 complaint against then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SRJ) that its population suffered genocide during the war in the early 1990s. Serbia legal team talks Croatia genocide suit The preliminary hearing, set to last five days, will see Serbia's representatives argue that the ICJ, a UN court, has no jurisdiction in the case, since at the time the suit was filed, Serbia was not a UN member, and therefore not a signatory to the Genocide Convention – the document that this tribunal's jurisdiction is based on. B92 spoke with Serbia's legal representative Vladimir Djeric ahead of his trip to The Hague. B92: In the Bosnia-Herzegovina genocide lawsuit, the court determined its jurisdiction. Why is the same argument used once again? Djeric: I will remind you that until 2000, the government art that time held the position that SRJ was a UN member that had continuity with SFRJ [Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia – former Yugoslavia]. Once this approach was abandoned, we were admitted to the UN, and then the question about the time when we were not a UN member arose. You are right about Bosnia-Herzegovina, but in our own lawsuit against NATO states, the court decided that we, as a country that was not a UN member, could not appear before the court and conduct proceedings against NATO countries. B92: The hearing on Monday will not be about the essence of the lawsuit about alleged genocide in Croatia from 1991 until 1995. When it was filed in 1999, Croatia claimed that SRJ was responsible not only of genocide against Croats, but also against Serbs? Djeric: That's right, there are two complaints. One is about genocide allegedly committed in the Croatian territory from 1991 until 1995 against the non-Serb population, and the other is about the pogrom of Serbs from Croatia in 1995, and the SRJ responsibility for this. However, Croatia later put this aside and held on to the first part of the lawsuit. This is the essence of the argument and that is what the court would deliberate if it had jurisdiction, which we are hoping it will not.

Serbia legal team talks Croatia genocide suit

The preliminary hearing, set to last five days, will see Serbia's representatives argue that the ICJ, a UN court, has no jurisdiction in the case, since at the time the suit was filed, Serbia was not a UN member, and therefore not a signatory to the Genocide Convention – the document that this tribunal's jurisdiction is based on.

B92 spoke with Serbia's legal representative Vladimir Đerić ahead of his trip to The Hague.

B92: In the Bosnia-Herzegovina genocide lawsuit, the court determined its jurisdiction. Why is the same argument used once again?

Đerić: I will remind you that until 2000, the government art that time held the position that SRJ was a UN member that had continuity with SFRJ [Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia – former Yugoslavia]. Once this approach was abandoned, we were admitted to the UN, and then the question about the time when we were not a UN member arose.

You are right about Bosnia-Herzegovina, but in our own lawsuit against NATO states, the court decided that we, as a country that was not a UN member, could not appear before the court and conduct proceedings against NATO countries.

B92: The hearing on Monday will not be about the essence of the lawsuit about alleged genocide in Croatia from 1991 until 1995. When it was filed in 1999, Croatia claimed that SRJ was responsible not only of genocide against Croats, but also against Serbs?

Đerić: That's right, there are two complaints. One is about genocide allegedly committed in the Croatian territory from 1991 until 1995 against the non-Serb population, and the other is about the pogrom of Serbs from Croatia in 1995, and the SRJ responsibility for this.

However, Croatia later put this aside and held on to the first part of the lawsuit. This is the essence of the argument and that is what the court would deliberate if it had jurisdiction, which we are hoping it will not.

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