OSCE hosts three-country conference on judicial co-operation in war crimes proceedings

VELIKI BRIJUNI, CROATIA, 8 June 2005 - The OSCE on Wednesday hosted a conference of justice ministers from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro on inter-state judicial co-operation in war crimes proceedings.

Ministers identified a number of activities to ensure the fair and impartial prosecution of war crimes and end impunity for perpetrators.

The Head of the OSCE Taskforce of the Slovenian OSCE Chairmanship, Dr Boris Frlec, said the conference was particularly timely as it closely followed the first decision by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to transfer an indictment to a domestic court.

"Given the expectation that more indictments will be transferred by the ICTY to domestic courts, as well as the large number of war crimes trials currently taking in all three countries, inter-state co-operation is essential to provide the conditions for fair trials for the accused and adequate protection for victims and witnesses," he said.

The Ministers discussed issues including measures to facilitate direct co-operation between judiciaries by ensuring full use of existing mechanisms and the setting up of an appropriate legislative framework. They also discussed measures to ensure the provision of services to facilitate the participation of witnesses and victims in war crimes trials.

The ministerial conference will be followed by a two-day expert seminar attended by judges, prosecutors, police, and ministry representatives from all three states aimed at removing obstacles to conducting trials of war crimes suspects.