"The Tribunal"s Referral Bench today rendered the decision to refer the case of Pasko Ljubicic to Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance with Rule 11bis of the Tribunal"s Rules of Procedure and Evidence. This decision can be appealed," reads a press release issued on the ICTY's website on Wednesday.
"As part of the Tribunal"s completion strategy, endorsed by the UN Security Council, the Prosecutor has requested a small number of cases involving mid and lower-level accused to be referred to national courts pursuant to Rule 11bis of the Tribunal"s Rules of Procedure and Evidence," the press release says.
Ljubicic's defence counsel, Zagreb attorney Tomislav Jonjic, told Hina on the phone that he was going to appeal the decision.
Jonjic has already asked for the the referral of his client's case to the judiciary of Croatia.
The 40-year-old Ljubicic, former commander of the Bosnian Croat antiterrorist unit called The Jokers, has been in the ICTY detention centre since late 2001 when he surrendered to Croatia's authorities.
The ICTY charges him with the 1993 massacre of Bosnian Muslims in the central Bosnian village of Ahmici, which the indictment qualifies as a crime against humanity and a violation of the laws and customs of war.