NAME OF MECHANISM

War Crimes Chamber

YEARS OF OPERATION

March 2005 -

MANDATE AND OPERATIONS

Mandate: Initiated by the Office of the High Representative and the ICTY as part of the mandate to establish the necessary institutions to try individuals accused of committing war crimes in Bosnia-Herzegovina during 1992-1995. Bosnia and Herzegovina enacted the legislation to establish the War Crimes Chamber in December 2004. Designed to take over some of the suspects indicted by the ICTY and by local courts.

Staff: 100 staff – 7 prosecutors; 11 judges.

Structure: 5 teams of prosecutors and 1 panel with three judges.

Initially international, to transition to national court within 5 years [ICTJ News]

Budget: In 2006, the annual budget was increased to €450 000.

Funding: Donor countries have pledged finance ($18.4m and resources. $44.5m is needed for first 5 years. The original budget was supplemented by the US Government and the Open Society Institute.

LATEST UPDATE

January 2008: In March 2005, the War Crimes Chamber began its operations within Bosnia ’s State Court. The ICTY has already referred two of its cases to the War Crimes Chamber. Additional ICTY referrals are expected.

It is hoped to phase out the international staff within a short time frame.

To date, three trials have been completed. The Chamber's first case, the "Ovcara" case, involved the trying of 16 defendents for the abduction and killing of 200 non-Serbs in Croatia in November 1991. 14 of the defendents were convicted, the other 2 acquitted. However, in December 2006 the Supreme Court ordered a retrial which is currently underway. The other two cases led to the conviction of five out of the six accused.

A further three trials are ongoing, while approximately 34 cases are in the pre-trial or investigation stage.

The WCC's location in Sarajevo and its mandate for trying mid to low-level perpetrators (ie. those who actually committed the crimes rather than ordered them) makes the WCC more accessible than the ICTY. However, outreach is still a problem due to limited resources.

Concerns about the WCC include the still limited co-operation given to it by the Serbian authorities, and the inadequate mechanisms in place for witness protection.