Report on War Crimes Trials in Serbia during 2014 and 2015

The biannual report on war crimes trials in Serbia offers an insight into all war crimes trials conducted  before the Higher Court and the Appellate Court in Belgrade, as well as before the courts of general jurisdiction. The report gives a brief overview of proceedings for 27 cases, as well as the basic findings of the HLC regarding the cases.

The War Crimes Department of the Higher Court in Belgrade issued first instance judgments in nine cases in the reporting period. The War Crimes Department of the Appellate Court in Belgrade issued nine judgments acting upon appeals against judgments of the Higher Court in Belgrade. One judgment was issued before courts of general jurisdiction. Seven indictments have been confirmed in the reporting period against a total of nine persons for war crimes against civilians.

The efficiency of the work of the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor and the effects of the regional cooperation, as well as the process of election of the new War Crimes Prosecutor; the prosecution of “politically sensitive” cases and political impacts on the work of the Prosecutor’s Office and effects of the Serbia’s accession to the European Union negotiations on the prosecution of war crimes are being analyzed in the  overview of general findings and social and political context. This part of the Report also presents the work of the Department for War Crimes and courts of general jurisdiction in the penal policy sphere, the application of international law, anonymization of judgments and the length of proceedings, as well as the procedures for transferring judges from the war crimes department and the consequences of such deicions for the procesution of war crimes.

The Report on War Crime Trials in Serbia during 2014 and 2015 is available here.