"The appeals chamber decided that the trial chamber had made a mistake when it refused to release them on two occasions, and accepted arguments of the defence that all conditions for their release have been met," said Markac's attorney Miroslav Separovic.
Separovic said that the defence was right to claim that conditions for provisional release had been met, including the voluntary surrender of the accused, cooperation with the prosecution, and the government's guarantees that the accused would return when requested to do so by the tribunal.
"This also shows that the truth can be proved only before the Hague tribunal," he added.
Some of the credit for the success of attempts to ensure provisional release for the generals, after such requests were refused on two occasions, also goes to the government's correct policy of cooperation with the tribunal.
Cermak's attorney Cedo Prodanovic expressed satisfaction with the decision, adding that the ICTY had abided by its own criteria.
Provisional release will facilitate preparations for the trial, Prodanovic said, adding that it was still not clear when the trial would begin.
Croatia's Assistant Justice Minister Jaksa Muljacic, who is in charge of cooperation with the ICTY, welcomed the decision on provisional release.
"We welcome the decision of the Appeals Chamber which took into account all elements in favour of provisional release, the government's guarantees, the generals' being available to the tribunal, their voluntary surrender and the fact that chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte supported the defence's request," Muljacic said.
Cermak and Markac are expected to return to Croatia around 1 pm on Friday aboard a regular Croatian Airlines flight.
Cermak and Markac are charged with six counts of crimes against humanity and violations of the laws and customs of war committed against rebel Serbs during and after the Croatian military and police operation codenamed Storm, from August to November 1995.