THE INTERNATIONAL HAGUE TRIBUNAL

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia is competent for proceeding all cases of war crimes committed in the territory of the former SFRY, regardless of the citizenship of either the victim or the perpetrator.

The Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor has a professional, continued, constructive and interactive co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
 
In November 2003, the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor's Office initiated professional co-operation with the investigators of the Hague Tribunal. The result of such endeavours and efforts made by this Prosecutor's Office can be observed in the present high level of co-operation with the Hague investigators. Both being professional and expert bodies working towards the same goal, i.e. the prosecution of war crimes perpetrators, this Prosecutor's Office and the Hague Tribunal Prosecutor's Office exchange data, documents and witness statements obtained throughout their investigations.

In this way, the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor has obtained relevant information and data, significant not only as a starting point for an appropriately directed investigation, but also for the lightening to a considerable extent of some events which took place in Kosovo. Namely, the fact to be kept in mind is that the Hague Tribunal investigators, being close to the scenes of the crimes, had access to the information and material related to their investigations, which allowed them to collect evidence and interrogate immediate witnesses of the crimes. Owing to the co-operation with the UNMIK judicial authorities, the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor's Office has now been enabled to directly examine witnesses of Albanian nationality in Kosovo.

The co-operation with the Hague Tribunal has resulted in the following:

 - The case related to the events which occurred in 1992 in Zvornik has been transferred from the ICTY's competence to the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor.
 - The motion to the Hague Tribunal Trial Chamber, put forward by the ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte, for the transfer of the »Vukovar Gang of Three« case (accused Mrkšic, Šljivancanin and Radic), as well as the case regarding Vladimir Kovacevic aka Rambo, accused of shelling the city of Dubrovnik in 1991, to this Prosecutor's Office.
 - Actions undertaken in response to requests for assistance
 - 19.07.2006. - Access to the Tribunal's documentation

THE U.S. EMBASSY

Through its Embassy in Belgrade, the U.S. Government supports the work of the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office, granting it substantial technical and material assistance on a number of occasions. The Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor and the U.S. Government representatives have direct co-operation in the »Bitici Brothers« case. On the occasion of his visit to the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office on 29 September 2004, U.S. Ambassador Michael Polt expressed his support to its work.

OSCE

One of the priorities of the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro is providing support to the capacity building of the national judicial and police institutions in conducting proceedings against war crimes perpetrators. Commitment to this goal resulted in the Memorandum on Co-operation, concluded in May 2004 between the OSCE Mission and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Serbia.

The OSCE Mission encourages the establishment and work of specialized judicial institutions, giving particular support to the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office headed by an independent, Parliament-elected Prosecutor, such institutions being considered a prereqisite of proceeding war crimes in accordance with international standards, as well as an additional guarantee of judicial independence in dealing with these delicate matters.
 
Monitoring of war crimes trials: Since early 2003, the OSCE observers have been involved in the regular monitoring of all war crimes trials held before courts in Serbia, thereby ensuring their compliance with the internationally recognized rules. In performing this activity within its mandate, the OSCE Mission relies on its regular communication with the Prosecutor's Office.
 
Regional co-operation: The OSCE Mission has initiated a number of activities directed towards the improvement of regional judicial co-operation in war crimes proceedings within the triangle embracing Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The most important among these activities are regional meetings attended by high representatives of judicial institutions and competent ministries, aimed at looking into various forms of co-operation in war crimes proceedings, such as the advancement of the existing mechanisms regarding inter-state co-operation, access to witnesses, provision of evidence, exchange of professional tips and judicial experience. The first among these OSCE-organized meetings took place in November 2004 in Palic, whereas the process was continued by a regional conference held in June 2005 in the Brioni islands (Croatia).
 

The intensified regional contacts have contributed to the elaboration of concrete mechanisms for better co-operation, e.g. the Memorandum signed by the War Crimes Prosecutor and the Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Serbia on one side, and State Prosecutors of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina on the other; these regional contacts have also traced a path to an increasing co-operation among the Prosecutor's Offices of these states in dealing with concrete cases.
 
Enhancement of professional competence: Through their aquaintance with the standards of international humanitarian law, judicial practice of international criminal tribunals and investigation techniques, judges and prosecutors receive additional tips for their efficient dealing with war crimes investigations and trials in accordance with international standards. Among other participants, representatives of the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office attended a seminar on the application of command responsibility in war crimes trials, which was held in March 2004. Since December 2003, intending to enhance the professional competence of prosecutors, investigating judges and police members in dealing with war crimes investigations and witness protection issues, the Mission has organized a number of courses, seminars, expert meetings and study visits, including those to the Hague Tribunal.
 
Informing the public: Owing to the donations provided by the Government of Holland, the OSCE Mission is conducting a project directed towards informing the Serbian public on war crimes trials before national courts, mandate and work of the Hague Tribunal, as well as of other issues related to facing the past and reaching the truth and justice through war crimes trials. The Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor is one of the key partners and beneficiaries of this project. The project framework has involved the broadening of the Prosecutor's Office's PR Service, organization of a number of lectures and round table meetings, as well as the realization of other activities intended to inform the public and create support for the sentencing of those responsible for the gravest atrocities committed during the wars in the former Yugoslavia. The web site of the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office has been created as a part of such public-related activities.
 
Legislation: In the first half of 2003, the OSCE Mission provided expert assistance to the creation of The Law on Organization and Jurisdiction of Government Authorities in Proceeding War Crimes, which served as a basis for the establishment of the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office. Further amendments to this Law, as well as the draft Law on Government Authorities in Proceeding Criminal Offences against International Humanitarian Law, were created by the working group assigned by the Serbian Ministry of Justice, whereas the Mission provided logistic and professional assistance.

One of the key factors of successful court proceedings against war crimes perpetrators is the establishment of legal framework for regional co-operation, given the fact that victims, witnesses, perpetrators and scenes of the crimes are situated in the territories of different states. Regional co-operation is a prerequisite for the ICTY's referral of the cases to national courts.

In May 2004, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Serbia signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the OSCE Mission in Serbia and Montenegro. Throughout 2003, the OSCE elaborated the Support Strategy for Judiciary and Police Capacity Building in the Republic of Serbia. The principal intention of this Strategy is to facilitate regional co-operation, so as to enable the prosecution of persons responsible for war crimes in accordance with interanationally recognized standards.

The co-operation would involve free exchange of evidentiary material and information related to investigations and operational planning, assistance in collecting evidence and examination of witnesses, transfers of cases to those states which have access to the crimes perpetrators, etc. This would finally result in harmonization of judicial practice in the area of war crimes trials.

REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

In November 2004 at Palic Lake, the OSCE organized an expert meeting on inter-state co-operation in war crimes proceedings, attended by representatives of the judicial authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro. The meeting addressed the Draft Memorandum on Agreement, proposed by the Croatian State Prosecutor, as means of upgrading direct co-operation between the Serbian Public Prosecutor's Office and the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office on one side, and the Croatian State Prosecutor's Office on the other.
 
Co-operation of Serbia and Montenegro with the Republic of Croatia is regulated by the European Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, which was ratified by the FRY Assembly in 2001. Likewise, the Agreement on Legal Assistance in Civic and Criminal Matters was signed by the FRY and the Republic of Croatia. However, the work of the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office so far has revealed the need for a more efficient, strictly professional form of co-operation, resulting in the idea of making the Agreement on Co-operation.
 
The need for such agreement arose throughout the proceeding of the case dealing with the war crime against war prisoners committed in 1992 at the Ovcara farm near the town of Vukovar. Witnesses related to this event were examined by the national judicial authorities, significantly assisted by the Croatian Prosecutor's Office.
 
The Agreement Memorandum on Realization and Enhancement of Co-operation in Fighting All Forms of Grave Crimes was signed on 5 February 2005, between acting Serbian Public Prosecutor Slobodan Jankovic and War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic on one side, and Croatian Chief Prosecutor Mladen Bajic on the other.
 
Among other issues, this Agreement Memorandum regulates the process of exchanging information between the two states' Prosecutor's Offices regarding the criminal offences of war crimes. Pursuant to the stated agreement, the two states obliged themselves to exchange data, reports, documents and information relevant for successful war crimes investigations. One example of this interaction has been demonstrated in the co-operation of our Office with the Prosecutor's Office in the town of Split, regarding the clarification of the war crime perpetrated in the port of Lora near Split in 1992.

TEXT OF AGREEMENT

(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

13 October 2006 - (under construction)

TEXT OF AGREEMENT

(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
 
Further to the request for investigation made by the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor's Office, in the period between 24 and 29 April 2005 in Sarajevo, an investigating judge of the Belgrade District Court's War Crimes Chamber and a Deputy War Crimes Prosecutor examined the first thirteen witnesses from Bosnia and Herzegovina, in relation to the crimes perpetrated in the town of Zvornik throughout 1992. Most witnesses were the victims of those crimes, which involved murders of at least 15 civilians in the Home of Culture in Celopek and deportation of 1822 civilians from the village of Kozluk to Hungary, in May 1992. In this way, direct co-operation was established between the Serbian and BH judicial authiorities in proceeding war crimes cases before national courts.

On 1 July 2005, the Agreement Memorandum on Realization and Enhancement of Co-operation in Fighting all Forms of Grave Crimes was concluded between the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Serbia and the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
 

TEXT OF AGREEMENT

(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

REPUBLIC OF MONTENEGRO

Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukčević and Montenegrin Supreme State Prosecutor Vesna Medenica met in Podgorica on 31st October 2007 to sign the Agreement on Cooperation in Prosecuting Perpetrators of Criminal Offences against Humanity and Other Assets Protected by International Law.

Direct cooperation between the two Prosecutor's Offices, including the exchange of evidence and other documents and data, reflects Serbia and Montenegro's common interest in a more efficient investigation, identification and punishing of all war crimes perpetrators.

The Agreement will apply to war crimes committed in the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, i.e. to citizens of Serbia and of Montenegro, since constitutional provisions bar extraditions and transfers of criminal prosecution.

Another similar document, the Agreement on Cooperation in Prosecuting Perpetrators of War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity and Genocide, was signed on 13 October 2006 in Zagreb, by the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor and the Croatian State Prosecutor.
 

TEXT OF AGREEMENT

(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

UNMIK
 
On 11 November 2004, the War Crimes Prosecutor met with the UNMIK judicial representatives headed by Jean Christian Cady, the deputy UNMIK Secretary General's Special Representative in charge of judicial and police sectors, and Thomas Monaghan, the UNMIK Justice Department Director. The meeting resulted in the agreement providing for the witnesses located in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija to be examined by the Serbian judicial authorities, whereas the UNMIK judicial representatives were enabled to examine those located in the territory of the Republic of Serbia.

The UNMIK Police provided logistic support to the Serbian judicial representatives, i.e. the prosecutor and investigating judge, when on several occasions they visited Kosovo in order to examine witnesses of Albanian nationality.

The UNMIK Prosecutor's Office and this Prosecutor's Office interactively work on clarification of the »Cut-Off Heads« case. It refers to the war crime against captured members of the Yugoslav Army doing their military service in 1999, which was committed by the members of a special UCK unit called »The Black Eagles«. The perpetrators of this crime are located in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, while all of the witnesses are residents of Serbia. Co-operation in this case is realized through witness examinations jointly conducted by the UNMIK investigation authorities and a Deputy War Crimes Prosecutor.

The Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor co-operates with the non-governmental sector, particularly with the Fund for Open Society, Humanitarian Law Center and Belgrade Centre for Human Rights.