In 2025, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) monitored all war crimes trials before the war crimes departments of the Higher Court and the Court of Appeal in Belgrade, a total of 27 cases. During the year, 107 hearings were scheduled, but only 66 were held. Six hearings were not held due to the absence of the defendants, and four due to the absence of defense counsel. Twelve hearings were postponed because witnesses failed to appear, while the reasons for the cancellation of eight hearings are unknown to the HLC and the public. Additional reasons for postponing hearings included defense motions seeking the recusal of the trial chamber and requests for access to the case file, which will be discussed in more detail in the analysis of individual cases.
During the year, the Public Prosecutor’s Office for War Crimes (PPOWC) filed only five indictments against five persons, four of which were confirmed. All indictments were the result of PPOWC’s independent investigations.
The War Crimes Department of the Higher Court in Belgrade delivered eight first-instance judgments, two of which were rendered in retrial proceedings. One judgment was rendered on the basis of a plea agreement concluded between the PPOWC and the accused.
The War Crimes Department of the Court of Appeal in Belgrade rendered six decisions on appeals filed against judgments of the Higher Court in Belgrade. Four cases were concluded with final judgments, while one case was discontinued due to the defendant’s permanent incapacity to stand trial. Novak Stjepanović, who was finally sentenced in June 2025 to 13 years’ imprisonment for murder and wartime sexual violence in the Bratunac II case, did not report to begin serving his sentence.
The past year was marked by increasingly pronounced political pressure on the judiciary, as well as by a narrowing of the space for public discussion and expert debate on amendments to legal provisions affecting not only criminal prosecution, but the judiciary as a whole.
The election of the Chief War Crimes Prosecutor remained overshadowed by the political struggle for dominance within the High Prosecutorial Council (HPC) and was not completed in 2025 either. The absence of a formally appointed head of the PPOWC further reduced the efficiency and transparency of its work.
War crimes trials continue to take place in an atmosphere of denial and relativization of crimes committed during the armed conflicts. State officials, politicians, and journalists close to the regime actively participate in shaping a narrative that undermines judicially established facts and marginalizes victims.
The aim of this report is to inform both the professional and the broader public about the course of the trials, identify key obstacles to the delivery of justice, and point out certain shortcomings to the competent institutions, all with a view to improving the handling of war crimes cases.
The complete report is available in Serbian at the following link.
The executive summary of the report will be available soon.
