SEMINAR ON WAR CRIMES TRIALS BEGINS IN BIZOVAC

BIZOVAC, Sept 18 (Hina) - A two-day seminar on war crimes trials before Croatian courts opened in Bizovac near the eastern Croatian town of Osijek on Monday. The event is organised by the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Croatia, Croatian Justice Ministry, Croatian Legal Centre, and the Coalition for International Justice from The Hague, and it is sponsored by the British Government. Attending the seminar are judges, attorneys and state prosecutors from Osijek and Vukovar counties. The purpose of the seminar is to discuss concrete cases of war crimes trials and contribute to spreading the public awareness of human rights, international representatives said. Since the beginning of aggression and "the war which was imposed on Croatia, the country has carried out activities aimed at uncovering and processing criminal acts which have the elements of war crime against humanity and international humanitarian law," said Assistant Justice Minister Dubravko Palijas in an introductory speech. He stressed that "competent judicial bodies have carried out several thousand investigations, issued indictments and made numerous rulings." "Those activities are being carried out today as well and Croatia and its judiciary will continue efforts aimed at shedding light on and bringing to justice those individuals who committed war crimes in this region during the war," Palijas said. The seminar will also tackle the most important parts of Croatia's legal system and judicial practice as well as international standards and the application of the practice of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). (hina) rml