Justice that reconstructs” “” “

“Doing justice to the past to reconstruct the society of the present”: that’s the aim of the International Penal Tribunal for the crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia. The judges of the Tribunal include Fausto Pocar , professor of international law at the University of Milan, who has previously served as president of the UN Commission for Human Rights in 1991 and in 1992; and member of the international penal Tribunal for crimes committed in Rwanda in 2000. The Tribunal, which is based in The Hague and was set up by the Security Council of the United Nations in 1993, deals with crimes committed in the territories of the former Yugoslavia since 1991 and the punishment of those responsible: estimates speak of some 150,000 people murdered, countless rapes, atrocities and crimes perpetrated in concentration camps with the specific objective of “ethnic cleansing” against the members of another ethnic group or religion. Further information on the activities of the International Tribunal for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia can be obtained on the website: www.un.org/icty. We interviewed Fausto Pocar. How does the Tribunal work? “The International Penal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia is composed of three chambers of first instance, with a total of 18 judges (half of whom permanent, the other half appointed for individual trials), six benches comprising three judges each, and an appeal court composed of seven judges. That means that six trials of first instance can be simultaneously conducted. The appeal court considers appeals against first instance sentences, and a series of interlocutory appeals against sentences issued by benches of first instance in the course of processes that require an immediate decision. It should also be pointed out that the appeal court also operates as an appeal court for the international penal Tribunal for Rwanda, which is composed just of judges of first instance, with the exception of two that also form part of the appeal court in The Hague”. How are sentences executed? “If the accused is found guilty, the sentence issued against him/her is executed by detention in the prison of a State with which the Tribunal has an agreement in this sense. In other words, only detention during trial takes place in The Hague; once the trial has ended, the accused against whom sentence has been passed is sent to another State for the execution of the sentence and is subject to the rules of detention in that particular State”. What collaboration is needed from the States of origin of the accused? “The collaboration of the States of origin of the accused is essential for the Tribunal’s work. The degree of cooperation is at times limited; this creates many obstacles to the work of the court. It is also variable, depending on the attitudes of governments. In general, however, we are witnessing an ever greater cooperation by the States of the Balkan region”. Could the Tribunal’s work also have positive repercussions on the political and institutional framework of former Yugoslavia? “The aim of the Tribunal is to contribute to the reconstruction of a democratic political and institutional life able to come to terms with the past of each country of the region. It is a common conviction that such reconstruction cannot take place if justice is not done in expiating the crimes of the past. A new society cannot be founded on the impunity of those who have committed heinous crimes”.