News in English     | 03.12.2018. 14:00 |

Meron: I would have rendered fair and objective judgment in Ratko Mladić case

FENA Press release

SARAJEVO, December 3 (FENA) - President of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT), Theodor Meron, near the end of his term expressed his conviction that he would have rendered a "fair and objective judgment" in the case against Ratko Mladić and that he considers proposing changes to the Hague Rules on exemptions of judges.

In an interview with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIRN) Judge Meron – whose mandate expires in January next year - regrets that he will not be able to participate in delivering the judgment in the case of Radovan Karadžić, and that he will not be a member of the Court’s Panel in the delivery of the judgment in the Ratko Mladić case.

Commenting the decision of Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti to exempt him from the trial to the former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) Ratko Mladić due to the perception of bias, Meron said that he opposed this decision. Nevertheless, Meron recused himself from the Appellate Panel in the Radovan Karadžić case after the requests of Karadžić's defense for his disqualification for the same reasons.

Meron told BIRN that it would be wrong to view the current problems of the Mechanism as a controversy between him and Judge Antonetti. He explained that he and Antonetti had different views on the matters of the law, but that it was not based on anything personal between them.

"I was very clear in my official statements, I disagree with Judge Antonetti's decision to disqualify judges in the Mladić case," Meron pointed out, adding that he is convinced that, if he remained on that case, he would have had fair and objective approach.

Speaking about the case against Karadžić, Judge Meron explains that he recused himself willingly from this case in order to save time and money.

Although he was disappointed with the way things have turned out, he says that he is convinced that the Mechanism is strong enough to withstand disagreements between him and Antonetti.

"I am currently working on analysis whether certain structural changes are necessary to ensure effective resolution of issues of exemption of judges and whether to propose changes to the Rules of Procedure and evidence procedure in the Mechanism in this regard," says Meron, adding that an a potential proposal would be submitted for consideration to all Judges of the Mechanism.

Judge Theodor Meron told BIRN, as he comes to the end of his term in office in The Hague, that he is “tremendously proud” of the accomplishments of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and its successor, the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals - particularly for their contributions to international criminal and humanitarian law.

“In my view, what the Tribunal has achieved over the years has been nothing short of extraordinary,” Meron said in written answers to BIRN’s questions.

He argued that the ICTY’s achievements were even more significant than the trials it has held and the war criminals it has brought to justice.

“In the span of just a few years, it has fundamentally changed how we think about accountability and the importance of ensuring that those who are alleged to have committed some of the worst crimes imaginable are held to account before fair and impartial courts,” he said.

“At the same time, the ICTY has rigorously and methodically reviewed, explained, and applied key provisions of international law, increasing understanding of the law and, I hope, its application in conflict zones around the world and in national courts, including in the countries of the former Yugoslavia,” he added.

Some of the ICTY’s rulings - the acquittals of Yugoslav Army general Momčilo Perišić and Croatian Army generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač - have caused uproar in the Balkans. Meron admitted that “it has not always been an easy road”, and that the court has faced criticism over controversial verdicts.

“However, I am certain that the judgments rendered by the ICTY, as well as those rendered by the Mechanism, and the ICTY’s sister court, the ICTR [International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda], will stand the test of time, and I am confident that, a century from now, the global community will look back favorably on the judgments rendered by these pioneering institutions and recognize the invaluable contribution these judgments have made to ushering in an era of accountability and respect for the rule of law,” he argued.

The UN court has also been criticized for not doing enough to aid reconciliation. But Meron said it was important to remember the limits to its mandate, pointing out that “the judgments of a court alone cannot heal the deep wounds inflicted by crimes such as those at Srebrenica, for example”.

“Instead, it often falls to members of the communities most impacted by a crime - to civic and religious leaders, to parents and teachers, and to individuals - to find the strength and the means to rebuild their communities,” he said.

Meron said that during his 17-year career as an international judge, two decisions were milestones - the verdict convicting Bosnian Serb general Radislav Krstić and the judgment in the trial of Bosnian Serb soldiers Dragoljub Kunarac, Zoran Vuković and Radomir Kovač, who were convicted of rape.

The 2004 appeals chamber verdict in the Krstić case, presided over by Meron, defined the Srebrenica massacres as an act of genocide.

“Those responsible will bear this stigma, and it will serve as a warning to those who may in future contemplate the commission of such a heinous act,” the ruling said.

Finding Kunarac, Vuković and Kovač guilty, the ICTY determined that “rape is a crime under customary international law, clarified that there is no victim ‘resistance’ requirement under the customary international law definition of rape, and held that the crimes of enslavement and torture could be based on underlying acts of sexual violence,” Meron explained.

“Through their jurisprudence, the ICTY and the ICTR have thus made clear that crimes of sexual nature are not just an opportunistic side-effect of war - nor are they somehow crimes of a lesser degree than other horrific acts of violence that occur during an armed conflict. Rather, acts of sexual violence can be, and frequently are, an instrument of war,” he added.

Meron’s final year at the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals has been marred by some controversy.

In September, Hague judge Jean-Claude Antonetti accepted Ratko Mladić’s defence’s request to remove Meron, Carmel Agius and Daqun Liu from the appeals process in the trial of the former Bosnian Serb military chief.

Antonetti wrote in his decision that Meron, Agius and Liu “appear biased” because they had previously rendered certain conclusions linked to Mladić in other cases in The Hague.

Meron then removed himself from Radovan Karadzic’s appeal against his genocide and war crimes convictions after the former Bosnian Serb political leader’s defense also accused him of bias.

He has been outspoken during his last months in office; on a recent visit to Belgrade, he chided Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić for denying that the Srebrenica massacres were an act of genocide.

“It does not help the government of Serbia to challenge judgments of a major international criminal tribunal,” Meron told Brnabić.

Born in 1930 in Poland, Meron’s early years were marked by the devastation of World War II – an experience that he says has shaped his entire career since then.

“Although my career has followed a circuitous path, the constant theme has been an attempt to grapple with the chaos and pain of war. War shattered my childhood and gave me a craving for education and the desire to use the law to bring an end to atrocities,” he explained.

“I am deeply grateful for the opportunities I have had throughout my life, and particularly for the fact that I had the extraordinary opportunity to take the helm of institutions that have served as pioneers of this new era of accountability,” he added.

(FENA) S. R.

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