ZAGREB, June 2 (Hina) - Croatian Justice Minister Ingrid Anticevic Marinovic and her Serbian counterpart, Vladan Batic, described their talks in Zagreb Monday as a significant step in the implementation of an agreement on cooperation
in criminal and civil issues, signed 1997.
ZAGREB, June 2 (Hina) - Croatian Justice Minister Ingrid Anticevic
Marinovic and her Serbian counterpart, Vladan Batic, described
their talks in Zagreb Monday as a significant step in the
implementation of an agreement on cooperation in criminal and civil
issues, signed 1997. #L#
At a news conference after the talks, both ministers expressed
readiness to advance cooperation in prosecuting the perpetrators
of the gravest crimes, including war crimes.
They concluded that the two countries should also boost cooperation
in civil legal issues to solve numerous open status, property and
family problems of citizens.
In order to improve cooperation, the 1997 agreement on legal aid in
civil and criminal issues, signed by Croatia and the then Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia, should be reviewed and adjusted to the
European Convention on criminal and civil issues.
A foundation for cooperation is also a recently signed agreement on
cooperation and the fight against organised crime, illegal drug
trafficking and terrorism. Croatia will soon sign the European
Convention on allowing the handling of criminal cases, which Serbia
has already ratified.
Both countries are also preparing laws on war crimes courts which
envisage cooperation among countries signatories to the Rome
Statute of the International Criminal Court, Anticevic-Marinovic
said.
Both sides accept the universal principle in processing the gravest
crimes, so no crime may go unpunished.
Both ministers agreed this did not mean the extradition of citizens
of one country to the other, since this is forbidden by both
countries' constitutions, but allowing the other country to handle
prosecution of a crime.
Batic said Serbia would not extradite General Momcilo Perisic,
indicted for war crimes in Croatia, but he would be tried in Serbia
if Croatia asked so after signing the European Convention which
regulated this issue.
Serbia will give back all land, birth, marriages and deaths
registers, as well as the Stepinac diary, if the information that it
is in possession of the Serbian justice ministry is correct, he
said.
(hina) lml sb