War Crimes Justice Project delivers practice manual to Serbian defence lawyers

BELGRADE, 25 October 2011 – The War Crimes Justice Project, an EU funded project, today presented the Serbian version of the Manual on International Criminal Defence to defence lawyers in Serbia.

The manual was developed by the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), together with the Association of Defence Counsel (ADC) practicing before the ICTY, for defence lawyers working on war crimes cases in the region. It is available in English, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian and Albanian languages.

“The manual compiles the experience of defence lawyers practicing before the ICTY. It is an important tool to transfer expertise gained in international war crimes trials to local practitioners,” said Slobodan Zečević, Defence Counsel and President of ADC. He added that the manual was written by defence lawyers for defence lawyers and provided a wealth of practical advice.

The manual is intended to be a reference tool for counsel defending cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide before national courts in the former Yugoslavia. It deals with issues common to the various jurisdictions in the region, such as the use of ICTY-generated evidence, how to conduct effective plea bargaining, and how to deal with various kinds of witnesses.

"The practice of international criminal defence is challenging and dynamic. The manual will serve as a practical research and reference tool for defence counsel in the region and for the wider international community. It has been tailored to enhance the ability of legal practitioners to appropriately defend individuals accused of war crimes and will be used by the judicial-training academies concerned with international criminal proceedings. It is a major contribution to the preservation of the legacy of the ICTY," said Jonathan Lucas, the Director of UNICRI.

The manual was developed as part of the four-million euro War Crimes Justice Project funded by the European Union and led by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in partnership with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and OSCE field operations.

This project is funded by the European Union.

For more information please call Ms. Sanela Tunović, War Crimes Justice Project Outreach Officer at ++387 61 539 535 or email at wcjp@odihr.pl.