CHIEF PROSECUTOR ATTENDED AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON WAR CRIMES PROCESSING AND LEGACY OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURTS IN THE WORLD

The Chief Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH - Goran Salihović participated in an international conference on the legacy of international criminal tribunals for war crimes held in Nuremberg.

Prosecutor Salihović gave a notable presentation and was moderating the panel which involved discussions concerning the prosecution of war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the legacy of the ICTY, the work of the residual mechanism of the ICTY and the importance of the archives of the ICTY and the International Criminal Courts in the prosecution of war crimes.

In his speech, the Chief Prosecutor Salihović emphasized the importance of regional cooperation in the fight against impunity of war crimes, as well as the importance of using the legacy of international criminal tribunals, which have tried war crimes in the past.

Good regional cooperation between the prosecutor’s offices of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and the Republic of Croatia was highlighted during the discussion and it was concluded that the future prosecution of war crimes must largely rely on a strong regional cooperation.

Vladimir Vukčević - War Crimes Prosecutor of Serbia also gave a notable presentation at the conference. Chief Prosecutor Salihović supported the presentation of the War Crimes Prosecutor Vukčević, which emphasized the importance of regional cooperation in the prosecution of war crimes that was also noted as a positive step forward by the European Commission in its Report.

Special symbolism of this international conference is the fact that it was held in Nuremberg, in the Palace of Justice i.e. the place where the accused Nazi leaders were tried for war crimes after the second World War II and where justice was brought to the millions of victims of the Nazi regime.

The trials against Herman Gering, who was sentenced to death, and 11 other senior Nazi officials that were convicted in 1946, were conducted in Courtroom 600.

This international conference was attended by prosecutors of international criminal tribunals that operate worldwide.

The following participants were just some of those who attended the conference:

-        Hassan Boubacar Jallow, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the Prosecutor of the Residual Mechanism of the ICTY

-        Serge Brammertz, Prosecutor of the ICTY,

-        David M. Crane, a former prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone,

-        William Smith, Deputy Prosecutor, Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

-        Vladimir Vukčević, War Crimes Prosecutor of Serbia, and

-        Goran Salihović, Chief Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH.