ZAGREB, June 2 (Hina) - The work on the suit Croatia has initiated against Yugoslavia before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will be more transparent as against the previous period, both in the sense of the suit's contents
and in the sense of finances, said Croatia's Ambassador to the United Nations in New York, Ivan Simonovic, on Thursday . Last month Ambassador Simonovic was appointed by the Croatian Government as its legal representative before the ICJ in the process of the action Zagreb has taken against Yugoslavia accusing it of the violation of the convention on genocide. Simonovic has already asked the ICJ to prolong the deadline for the elaboration of the basis of the facts on which the action is founded until the end of this year. This deadline has already been extended to September 14, 2000. In July 1999 Croatia submitted an action before the International Court of Justice
ZAGREB, June 2 (Hina) - The work on the suit Croatia has initiated
against Yugoslavia before the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
will be more transparent as against the previous period, both in the
sense of the suit's contents and in the sense of finances, said
Croatia's Ambassador to the United Nations in New York, Ivan
Simonovic, on Thursday .
Last month Ambassador Simonovic was appointed by the Croatian
Government as its legal representative before the ICJ in the
process of the action Zagreb has taken against Yugoslavia accusing
it of the violation of the convention on genocide.
Simonovic has already asked the ICJ to prolong the deadline for the
elaboration of the basis of the facts on which the action is founded
until the end of this year. This deadline has already been extended
to September 14, 2000.
In July 1999 Croatia submitted an action before the International
Court of Justice against Yugoslavia for genocide carried out
between 1991 and 1995.
Zagreb asked the United Nations' top judicial body to make a
judgement that Yugoslavia committed genocide in Croatia and to
define damages which Belgrade should pay.
As against a group of foreign lawyers, led by a former legal
representative of Croatia, U.S. attorney David Rivkin, the new team
will mainly be consisted of Croatian experts, Simonovic told Hina
on the phone last night. Croatian experts will do the job with lower
costs. In addition, Simonovic himself had given up his fees in this
task in order to contribute to the cost reduction.
The new team will also abandon a concept of ethnic "self-cleansing"
of Serbs from Croatia, which Rivkin had supported, Simonovic said.
Besides, this group of lawyers will teak a clear stand on the issue
of succession and the position of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia (Serbia/Montenegro) in the United Nations, he added.
(hina) jn ms