In his first reaction to the acquittal rendered by the ICTY Appeals Chamber on Friday, Brammertz said in a statement the "evidence collected by my Office will remain available to judicial authorities in the former Yugoslavia to facilitate national prosecutions for the crimes committed in connection with Operation Storm."
"My Office is disappointed by the outcome of the Judgement, which reverses the convictions against Mr. Gotovina and Mr. Markac entered unanimously by the three judges of the Trial Chamber. We are aware that those affected by crimes committed in connection with Operation Storm are not satisfied by the outcome and feel their suffering has not been acknowledged," Brammertz said.
The Appeals Chamber acquitted Gotovina and Markac of crimes committed in Operation Storm and released them on Friday.
Brammertz said the prosecution, as a party to the proceedings, "have to respect the result of the Appeal Judgement. International criminal justice – and the rule of law more generally – must rest on the fundamental building block of respect for the judicial process."
He added that as in all cases, "my Office will consider review proceedings if the necessary conditions are met."
"We will also make sure that evidence collected by my Office will remain available to judicial authorities in the former Yugoslavia to facilitate national prosecutions for the crimes committed in connection with Operation Storm. We trust that the judicial authorities in Croatia will live up to their obligations," said the statement.
The dissenting opinions from two Appeals Chamber judges – Carmel Agius and Fausto Pocar – have identified important issues arising out of the Majority's Judgement for the ICTY to reflect on, the statement said, adding that "These issues have also been the focus of attention by commentators external to the ICTY in the days following the Judgement."
"The issues include ensuring coherent standards of appellate review, assessing the evidence on the record in its totality and giving appropriate deference to a trial chamber's factual findings. Reflection on these matters is important and hopefully, in the end, will be a catalyst for further strengthening the international justice system," Brammertz said.
His statement followed after his advisor Frederick Swinnen told Radio and Television Serbia on Tuesday night that the Office of the Prosecutor would not seek a review of the acquittal.
There is no next step for the ICTY because the final decision was made, he said.
In theory, the proceedings can be reviewed at the request of both parties if new facts appear that were not available during the proceedings, but the Office of the Prosecutor does not intend to do that, Swinnen said.