"Serbia and Montenegro is ready to take over the case, particularly in light of the fact that a trial for the crimes committed on the Ovcara farm is currently taking place before the Special War Crimes Court in Belgrade, and Hague tribunal prosecutors have so far had no objections to the course of the proceedings," Ljajic told reporters in Belgrade where he was attending a conference on the transfer of competences in proceedings initiated before the Hague tribunal to national jurisdictions.
Ljajic said that the transfer of the case to the Croatian judiciary "would have a bad impact on the position of Serbia and Montenegro towards the Hague tribunal, it would give rise to public opposition to the tribunal, and would have far-reaching consequences on the process of reconciliation in the region".
"The extradition of the Vukovar Three to Croatia would mean that the Serbian authorities have violated the Constitution, because we handed over Veselin Sljivancanin, Miroslav Radic and Mile Mrksic to an international, supranational institution, whereas the transfer of the case to the Croatian judiciary would mean extradition to another country, which is banned under the Constitution," Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic said.
"The Croatian judiciary is ready to try the Vukovar Three in accordance with Croatian and international rules and standards. We are obviously interested in the case, because that was the worst crime committed during the war in Croatia," Croatian Public Prosecutor Mladen Bajic, who was also attending the conference, told Hina.
Aleksandra Milenov of the Hague Tribunal prosecutor's office in Belgrade told the conference that the tribunal had not yet received a request from the tribunal prosecutors to refer the case of the Vukovar Three to Croatia.
Speaking of the referral of cases to national jurisdictions, she said it was impossible to say exactly how many cases may be transferred to courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia and Montenegro, but added that that most of the cases would be transferred to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Before referring any cases to the three countries, the tribunal would assess the legislation of the country in question, the readiness of its judiciary to ensure a fair trial, and the level of the country's cooperation with the tribunal, Milenov said.