ZAGREB, Sept 22 (Hina) - Croatian Justice Minister and president of the Council for Cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Zvonimir Separovic, has sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council
informing it of the course of resolving a dispute between the Croatian Government and the ICTY Prosecutor's Office, the Justice Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
ZAGREB, Sept 22 (Hina) - Croatian Justice Minister and president of
the Council for Cooperation with the International Criminal
Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Zvonimir Separovic, has
sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council informing it of the
course of resolving a dispute between the Croatian Government and
the ICTY Prosecutor's Office, the Justice Ministry said in a
statement on Wednesday. #L#
In the letter Separovic refers to the ICTY request regarding the
hand-over of Mladen Naletilic Tuta and the question of jurisdiction
of the Hague Tribunal over the operations 'Flash' and 'Storm' which
in 1995 liberated a large part of Croatian territory which had been
under Serb occupation. On August 25, ICTY President Gabrielle Kirk
McDonald sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council about Croatia's
non-cooperation with the ICTY regarding the two issues.
Separovic says in the letter Croatia is willing to "immediately and
unconditionally" hand over Naletilic to the ICTY if competent
courts in Croatia adopt a decision to that effect. He added Croatia
has agreed to keep the ICTY informed about the course of the appeal
procedure to the extradition ruling.
Separovic says the resolution of the dispute regarding the
jurisdiction over 'Flash' and 'Storm' operations would depend on
minor changes to the Tribunal's rules of procedure, which would
enable it to make an independent decision in the dispute.
"As regards the dispute about the jurisdiction over 'Flash' and
'Storm' operations, Croatia and ICTY President McDonald believe it
is an unfortunate circumstance that the Tribunal's existing rules
of procedure do not envisage legal proceedings which would solve
disputes between the Prosecutor and the states in cases when the
Prosecutor is not acting in line with a Binding Order, issued by the
Trial Chamber, but in line with a Request for Assistance".
Separovic further explains that Croatia has started preparing
drafts for amending ICTY's rules of procedure so that legal
proceedings could be initiated in all such cases, regardless of the
form of the Prosecutor's request.
"President McDonald has supported this proposal and assured
Croatia that the Tribunal would start processing it as early as
November, 1999", Separovic said.
"If this change of rules is adopted, Croatia will present its legal
arguments regarding the limit of ICTY's jurisdiction over 'Flash'
and 'Storm' operations and the Tribunal's decision will be binding
for Croatia", said Separovic.
Separovic's letter to the Security Council was also addressed to
the ICTY President Gabrielle Kirk McDonald.
(hina) jn rml