ICTY STATUTE SHOULD BE CHANGED TO ENSURE RIGHT TO DAMAGES

ZAGREB, Nov 23 (Hina) - The Hague war crimes tribunal began discussing the victims' right to damages a year ago, spokesman Jim Landale told Hina on Friday. Tribunal president Claude Jorda proposed to the UN Security Council and the Secretary-General that the issue be addressed by a commission for damages. Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte drew the Security Council's attention to the issue a year ago as well. She said her office had been very successful in tracking down and freezing considerable funds on the accounts of accused parties which the judges, following a conviction, could confiscate. Also a year ago, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) began discussing the issue of the right to file for damages of persons who had been detained at the Tribunal's prison but were released after acquittal. A motion has been forwarded to competent bodies at the UN headquarters in New York as the regulation of the right to damages calls for changing the ICTY Statute, said spokesman Landale. One of such cases is that of Dragan Papic, a Bosnian Croat acquitted in the "Kupreskic" case two years ago, as well as that of Zoran, Mirjan and Vlatko Kupreskic, from the same case, acquitted by the appeals chamber after four years in detention, and several other Bosnian Croats from the Vitez group, who were released soon after surrendering. (hina) ha sb