ICTY DOES NOT HAVE SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY OVER CROATIAN COURTS

( Editorial: --> 4788 ) ZAGREB, Feb 26 (Hina) - The International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has no supervisory authority over Croatian courts and no Government representative has the power to make any official or unofficial promises to that effect, without reference to the law of the land, Croatian Justice Minister Miroslav Separovic said on Thursday, when queried by Hina on the subject of a recent statement by the Article 11 Commission. "I am sure that behind the incorrect information about unofficial promises is the intention to extend the application of the Rules of the Road - which provides, to a certain extent, for ICTY supervision over Bosnian courts - to the Republic of Croatia," Separovic said. "The Rules of the Road document was adopted in order to prevent criminal proceedings being instrumentalised in conflicts and showdowns between the entities," Separovic explained. "In view of the independence of the judiciary, the public conduct of proceedings and the quality of proceedings in Croatia, there is no need to envisage such solutions, particularly as there is no basis for it either in international or the domestic law," Separovic said. Hina also requested a clarification of that part of the statement from the US Embassy, which had published the original statement made by the Article 11 Commisison after a visit to the Croatian Danubian Region. The Article 11 Commission considered that no clarification was necessary because the Statement was self-explanatory, an Embassy representative said. "All the members of the Commission should get together and agree on an explanation," she said. Asked whether the ICTY had any powers to exercise any form of supervision over the work of Croatian courts, the Justice Minister said that the "Croatian judiciary was independent and did not need anybody's permission to perform its constitutional and legal tasks". "ICTY does not have a supervisory function over national courts. However, criminal proceedings in Croatia are public and everybody, including ICTY representatives, may attend trials and follow their course," Separovic added. "The Republic of Croatia cooperates with the International Criminal Tribunal pursuant to international law and the Croatian Constitutional Law on Cooperation with the ICTY, which allows the Tribunal to follow war crimes proceedings," Separovic specified. "There is no legal provision which says that ICTY is supposed to authorise legal proceedings in Croatia. Moreover, Croatia has the obligation under international law to prosecute certain crimes, such as war crimes and genocide, for which there is no statute of limitations. "The International Criminal Tribunal has jurisdicion over perpetrators of war crimes. This means that the Tribunal can take over proceedings being conducted before a national court, or it may institute new proceedings against persons who have already been convicted before a national court," Separovic concluded. (hina) jn as 261758 MET feb 98