Humanitarian Law Center Transitional Justice Report for Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo 1999-2005

Humanitarian Law Center

The Humanitarian Law Centre presented its Transitional Justice Report for Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo 1999-2005.

In her presentation of the Report, Natasa Kandic, the Centre Director said that Serbia failed to create responsible institutions, which is the main condition for the country �...to face the past and give justice�.

She added the �responsible institutions are one guarantee that crimes will never happen again�, but also that NGOs failed to pressure the Government of Serbia and the state institutions to accept their responsibility for historical heritage.

Kandic also estimates that it is a consequence of the lack of true political will and power to remove those who committed crimes from the armed forces, the police and other institutions.

In her words, the principle of equality in front of the Law started functioning in Serbia only when pressured by the international community. That principle is most visible, according to Kandic, in the trials of war crimes suspects.

However, she estimates that the prosecution acts are faulty and the courts and prosecution office remain under strict instructions of the executive power.