ZAGREB, Sept 20 (Hina) - The procedure in treating indictments from the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague (ICTY) is stipulated by the tribunal's Statute and Rule Book, as well as by Croatia's constitutional law on cooperation with
the tribunal.
ZAGREB, Sept 20 (Hina) - The procedure in treating indictments from
the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague (ICTY) is stipulated by the
tribunal's Statute and Rule Book, as well as by Croatia's
constitutional law on cooperation with the tribunal. #L#
Upon receiving the indictment from the ICTY, the government's
office for cooperation with the tribunal checks its formal
validity, i.e. if it complies with the tribunal's Statute and Rule
Book on procedure and evidence, and with the Croatian Constitution.
This is stipulated by Article Three, Item Two of the said
Constitutional Law.
There is no law-stipulated time limit for the government's office
to determine if the indictment is valid. In addition to the
indictment, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia (ICTY) also delivers an arrest warrant. Once its
validity is established, the indictment is forwarded first into the
Justice Ministry and then to the competent county court.
The law does not stipulate either the deadline within which the
Justice Ministry should send the indictment to the competent county
court.
ICTY rules on procedure and evidence determine only that the entire
procedure, from the delivery of the indictment to the extradition
of the accused to the tribunal, should be conducted within a
reasonable time.
Last year's indictment of Gen. Rahim Ademi shows that the
government can "stay" the extradition of an ICTY indictee. The
government stated on July 13 that it had stayed the extradition of
Ademi to meet his wish that he surrender to the tribunal within ten
days.
This was done so that the Justice Ministry did not forward to the
competent county court the ICTY request for Ademi's extradition
until he left for The Hague of his own will.
In line with Article 20 of the constitutional law, a county court's
three-member council meets the request for the extradition of the
defendant if the request refers to a person who is the subject of
extradition proceedings and if the crime in question falls under
the jurisdiction of the ICTY, as stipulated by its Statute.
The final executive decision approving the ICTY extradition
request is forwarded to the government via the Justice Ministry.
The government then forwards it to the tribunal, as stipulated in
Article 24 of the Constitutional Law.
The right to appeal against the county court decision is stipulated
by Articles 22 and 23 of the Constitutional Law.
Article 22 stipulates that the state attorney, the defendant and
his attorney may appeal against the decision within eight days. The
defendant cannot be extradited as long as his/her appeal is being
considered by the five-member Supreme Court Council.
Article 23 stipulates that the court decision allowing the
extradition is final, and that the final ruling may be appealed
against with a constitutional complaint lodged with the
Constitutional Court.
The justice minister may postpone the hand-over of the defendant in
case of his/her illness or some "other very justified reason".
This was the case with Mladen Naletilic aka Tuta, whose extradition
due to illness in October 1999 was delayed by then Interior Minister
Zvonimir Separovic.
(hina) ha sb