Viewpoint: Hague tribunal justice 'works'

Europe   1 June 2011

 

Former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic is now in The Hague, where he will go on trial at the international war crimes tribunal. Will justice be delivered?

Judge Richard Goldstone, former chief prosecutor for the Yugoslavia and Rwanda tribunals, believes the court has set important benchmarks. He held the posts from 1994-96, when indictments were drawn up against Gen Mladic and his political boss, Radovan Karadzic.

When in 1994 I started investigating war crimes in the former Yugoslavia I could not have imagined that the process would be so complex, slow and yet so successful.
 

The court decided to go after 'those most responsible' - the leaders

Mr Karadzic and Gen Mladic had already been indicted when the Srebrenica massacre occurred

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War Crimes in Sri Lanka

*War Without Witness in Sri Lanka

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U.S. case: Rajapakse ducks service, Court order sought for alternate service

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 June 2011, 00:04 GMT]

Attorney for the three Tamil plaintiffs who filed civil action against Sri Lanka's President Mahinda

Rajapakse for monetary damages under US's Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA) in the District Court of District of Columbia, informed the Court Tuesday that defendant, Mahinda Rajapakse, has avoided service of process by not accepting mail sent by recorded delivery to the Sri Lanka embassy and "Temple Trees," and that Plaintiffs are in the process of attempting to serve via Sri Lankan central authority in accordance with the provisions of "The Hague Convention," to which the U.S. and Sri Lanka are signatories. Plaintiffs will seek authorization from the court for alternate means of service, such as notification via a legal publication.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse

Plaintiffs' attorney, Bruce Fein, told TamilNet that the Sri Lanka embassy in the U.S. and the mail handlers at the Temple Trees, the official residence of Sri Lanka's President Rajapakse, have refused to accept summons and the complaint sent to the two addresses by recorded delivery.

Mr Fein added that if the defendant fails to accept service through the Hague Convention service of process, then the plaintiffs will file a motion with the Court seeking authority to effectuate service by publication. For this exercise, Fein said that the regulations require that summons and the complaint be translated into the native language of the defendant, Sinhala. The Sinhala translation of the complaint is now available for the benefit of the Sinhala public, Fein said.

• Report to Court on Efforts to effectuate service

Once the Court agrees to service by publication, failure to answer by the defendant will result in a default judgment and a court order for the defendant to pay the plaintiffs the damages. This is a critical step, Fein cautioned, as the Court need to be convinced that it has personal jurisdiction over the defendant before agreeing to a default judgment.     Full Story...