1 Non-Corrigé 1
InternationalCourt Cour internationale
of Justice de Justice
THEHAm La HAYE
Arblic sitting
held on Thursday 26 August 2993, at IO a.m., at the Peace Palace,
President Sir Robertemings presiding
in the case concerning Applicationof the Conventionon
the Prevention andmishment of the Crime of Genocide
(Bosnia and Herzegovinv. Yugoslavia (Serbia and Hontenegro))
Requests for the Indicationof Provisional Heasures
No 2
VERBATIMRECORD
Audience publique
tenue lejeudi26 août 1993,à 10 heures, au Palais de la Paix,
sous la présidence de sir Robert Jennings, président
en l'affaire relativeà l'Applicationde la conventionpour
la préventionet la répressiondu crime de génocide
osni nie-Herzégovc.nYougoslavie (Serbie et Honténégro))
Demades en indicationde mesures conservatoires
COMPTEREmPresent:
President SirRobertJennings
Vice-PresidentOda
Judges Schwebel
Bedjaoui
Ni
Evensen
Tarassov
Guillaume
Shahabuddeen
Aguilar Mawdsley
Weeramantry
Ajibola
Herczegh
Judges ad hoc Lauterpacht
Kreca
RegistrarValencia-OspinaPrésents:
Sir RobertJennings, Président
M. Oda, Vice-Président
MM. Schwebel
Bedjaoui
Ni
Evensen
Tarassov
Guillaume
Shahabuddeen
Aguilar Mawdsley
Weerarnantry
Ajibola,juges
Herczegh,juges
Lauterpacht,
Kreca,juges ad hoc
M. Valencia-Ospina, GreffierThe Govemnt of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina is represented
by: :
H. E. Mr. MuhamedSacirbey, Ambassador and Permanent Representative
of Bosniaand Herzegovina to theUnitedNations;
Mr. FrancisA. Boyle,Professorof InternationaL law,
as Agent;
Mr. Phonvan denBiesen, Advocate,
Mr. KhawarQureshi, Barrister England,
as Advocates and Counsel;
Mr. MarcWeller,AssistantLecturerin Law,Universityof Cambridge,
Senior ResearcF hellow ofSt. Catharine's College,Cambridge,
as Counsel.
The Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and
Montenegro) is represented by:
Mr. RodoljubEtinski,Professorat the Schoolof Law,Novi Sad
(Yugoslavia),
Mt. DjordjeLopicic(LL.C.),Chargé d'affaire s.i. of the Embassy
of the FederalRepublicof Yugoslavia to the Netherlands,
as Agents;
Mr. ShabtaiRosenne,AdvocatefromJerusalem(Israel),
Mr. MiodragMitic (LL.C.),ChiefLegalAdviserof the Federal
Ministryof Foreign Affairs,
as Counsel and Advocates.Le Gouvernementde la osn nie-~erzégov estereprésentépar :
S. Exc.M. MuhamedSacirbey, ambassadeur et représentantpermanent
de la Bosnie-Herzégovinaeuprès del'organisatiodnes
Nations Unies,
M. FrancisA. Boyle,professeur de droit international,
comme agent;
M. Phonvan den Biesen,avocat,
M. KhawarQureshi,avocat,
comme avocats etconseils;
M. Marc Weller,Assistant Lecturer in Law l'université de
Cambridgeet Senior Research Fellowof St. Catharine's College,
Cambridge,
comme consei.
Le Gouvernementde la ~épubliquefédérativede Yougoslavie (Serbieet
Monténégro) est représentépar :
M. RodoljubEtinski, professeurà la Facultéde droit, Novi Sad
(Yougoslavie),
M. Djordje Lopicic(LL.C.),chargéd'affaires a.i.de l'ambassade de
la Républiquefédérativede Yougoslavie auPxays-Bas,
comme agents;
M. Shabtai Rosennea,vocatau barreaude Jerusalem(Israel),
M. MiodragMitic(LL.C.),conseiller juridiqueen chefdu ministère
fédéral des affaires étrangères,
comme conseilset avocats. The PRESIDENT: Thismorningwe hear the caseof Yugoslavia and
firstMr. Etinski.
Mr. ETINSKI: Mr. President, distinguisheMdembersof the Court,may
it please theCourt. (i
My name is RodoljubEtinski. 1 am professorof international law at
the Universityof Novi Sad. It is a greathonour for meto appear before
this Courtas Agentof the FederalBepublicof Yugoslavia.
May 1 first take this opportuni toycongratulate
Judge GézaHerczeghon his electionto the Court.
Keepingin mind the instructions of the Presidentof the Court
regarding the maintenano ce forensiccivilityand the dignito yf the
Court, 1 will refrain fromreplyingin kind to the insultingremarks made
yesterdayby theAgent of theApplicant State againm st Government. His
insultis an abuseof the procedure of the Courtand 1 must reserveal1
Our rights,includingOur rightto objectto the admissibility of the
Application which is accompaniedby such impermissible statements.
By the twowrittenobservations dated9 and 23 August1993,1 have
commentedon the second request fo the indicationof provisional
measuresand of a latersupplement and amendmentsof it, exceptthoseof
w
23 and 24 August. Both ofthemcontaininformation not relevantto the
presentcase.
Much to my regret,1 was compelledto fax my written submissionsand
1 am worriedif theywere receivedin a readable form. The originalsof
a
the submissions wereforwardedto the Registraron 24 August and1 am
sure that the Registrar wilble able to producesatisfactory copies.
With this in mind, itis not my intentionto repeatthe contentsof these
observations. The statementosn behalfof the Federal Republiocf Yugoslaviawill
be made bythe followinp gersons.
Dr. MiodragMitic,ChiefLegalAdviserof theMinistryof Foreign
Affairsof the Federal Republi of Yugoslavia,will make a general
presentationof the underlying fact relevantto the crisisin the former
Yugoslavia. This is necessarybecauseof thenatureof theprovisional
measures requeste by the otherside. It isalso important fo argeneral
understandingof the case asa whole.
My CO-Agent,Dr. DjordjeLopicic,Chargéd'Affaires in the Kingdom
of TheNetherlands, will followand present our reasonisn respectof the
Yugoslav requesf tor provisionameasures. Distinguished Professor
Shabtai Rosennweill thenpresentOur generallegalarguments.
May it pleaseyou to permitMr. Miticto
Thankyou,Mr. President.
deliverhis statement.
The PRESIDENT:Thankyou very muchMr. Etinski. Dr. Mitic.
Dr. MITIC: Mr. President, distinguished Membo erthe Court,may
it please theCourt.
Allowme to brieflyset out thelegally relevant background
informationon the onsetof what is knownas theYugoslavcrisis,the
secessionof someYugoslav republics frt ome thenFederation- the
SocialistFederalRepublicof Yugoslavia - the outbreakof armed clashes
and acivil,ethnicand religiouw sar in Bosnia and Herzegovinwa,th
referenceto the discussionosn both the legitimac of the so-called
Government oftheRepublicof Bosniaand Herzegovina and the
responsibilitoyf the Governmenotf the SocialistFederalRepublicof
Yugoslavia,as well asthatof the Federal Republio cf Yugoslavia.Developments on the territoryof the former Yugoslav Republoic Bosnia
and Herzegovina cannotbe appraised without consideri the basicreasons
and natureof the ongoingwar, whichalso applies to the crimescommitted
thereand condemned most strongly by G theemment of Yugoslaviatime
and again,regardless of whothe perpetratorw sere.
The Constitutionof the SocialistFederalRepublicof Yugoslavia,
with Bosnia and Herzegovin as one ofits federalunits,containeda
provisionon self-determinatio of peoples butdid not envisage the
required procedurf eor its application.The forcibleand illegal
secessionof the Republio cf Slovenia,followedby thatof the Republic
of Croatia and their declaratio ofsindependencew,ere proclaimed
invalidby the Constitutional Cou oftYugoslavia andthe leadershipof
the thenYugoslaviasoughtto developcommonrulesto be appliedwith a
view to implementinga people'srightto self-determination. The then
valid1974SocialistFederalRepublicof Yugoslavia Constitution
prescribedthatany decisionon changesof Yugoslavia's borders,as well
as thoseof its federal units,i.e.,republics, was to be reachedby
consensusof al1 thememberrepublics. Onltyhe Statebordersof
Yugoslavia wererecognized internationally and bthehighest legislative
Stateauthority. Inter-republican borderswere merely administrativ in W
natureand were neither drawnnor validated by any agenocy eitherthe
federation or the republics.The recognitionof the breakaway Yugoslav
republicsby certaincountriesand evenby the international community
withintheir administrative bounderd iesnot only constitutae
violationof the Constitutioo nf Yugoslaviand its intemationally
recognizedbordersbut alsoof the principleof inviolability of
boundaries byforce. What,in this specific case, happen todthe former Yugoslav
republicof Bosniaand Herzegovina?This republicwas created only after
the Second WorlWdar asa federal unitwithinYugoslaviaand as a
communityof three constituen tations- the Serbs,Muslimsand Croats.
Before the proclamatio on the Kingdomof Serbs, Croatand Slovenesin
1918,the territoryof the Republicof Bosnia.endHerzegovi.n aorrnepart
of the Austro-HungariaEnmpire,populatedby Yugoslav peopleasnd was,in
1918,incorporated in the Stateof the Serbs,Croats and Sloveneswhich
was attached, togethewith Vojvodinato theKingdomof Serbiaand the
Kingdomof Montenegro,thusforminga commonStatecalledthe Kingdomof
Serbs,Croatsand Slovenes.As a result theSerbpeoplein the Republicof Bosniaand Herzegovina and
in the Republicof Croatiawere granted thestatus ofa constituent
nationhavingcontinuously liveo dnthoseterritories foc renturies.
With the secessionof one of its partsfromYugoslaviathe Serbshavenot
*
only losttheircommon State but were denied the right to
self-determination,that is to decideon theirfuturein the former
Republicof Croatiaand the Republio cf Bosniaand Herzegovina. On
15 October1991by flouting the SocialiF stderalRepublicof
Yugoslavia's Constitution,theAssemblyof the former Republiocf Bosnia
and Herzegovinaadopted a resolutio on the positionof the Socialist
Republicof Bosnia and Herzegovin regardingthe Yugoslavcrisisand a
memorandumon the sovereignto yf Bosnia,with the representativesf the
Croatianand the Muslim peoples votiing favourand the representatives
The SocialistFederal
of the Serbpeople strongly opposingtheseacts.
Republicof Yugoslavia's Presidencyconveyedon 20 December 1991to the
Arbitration Committeeof The HagueConferenceon former Yugoslaviiats
standsand opinionon the rightof the Serb people in Croatiaand in
Bosnia and Herzegovin to self-determination.On 9 January 1992 whenit
becarneclear thattheMuslimand Croatsidesby violatingthe principle
of consensuswere aboutto separatefromYugoslavia and turnBosniaand
Herzegovina into aMuslim-CroatStatethe Serbdeputiesto the parliament
passeda declaration proclaimit nge Republicof the Serbpeoplein
Bosnia andHerzegovina, the Constitutioof whichwas adoptedand
promulgatedon 27 March 1992,nine daysafter the statemen on the
principlesof constitutional arrangements for Bos andaHerzegovinwas
signed bythe rulingMuslimand Croatian political partii esBosniaand
Herzegovina.On 7 April1992,the EuropeanCommunity recognized in
spiteof al1 thesefactsand warningsthe so-called Republicof Bosniaand Herzegovinawhereason thevery sameday theAssemblyof the Serb
people proclaime dhe independen ttateknownas the SerbRepublicof
Bosnia and Herzegovina (subsequentrenarneRdepublicof Srpska byits
Assembly'sdecision).Meanwhile, the authorities of theo-called
Republicof Bosniaand Herzegovina resortedto terror againstthe Serb
population (thefirst assault by Muslim extremi tooskplace at aSerb
weddingpartyin Sarajevo), as wellas against Yugoslav army troops
stationedin Bosniaand Herzegovina. The leadershipof Socialist Federal
Republicof Yugoslavia sough to preventarmed clashes antdothatend
Mr. AlijaIzetbegovicM,r. Radovan Karadzic ,ndMr. FranjoBovason
behalfof theMuslim,Serband Croat national connnunitiein Bosniaand
Herzegovinasignedon 23 April1992a cease-firedeclaration in Sarajevo.
On 27 April1992the Constitutionof theFederalRepublicof
Yugoslaviawas adoptedand promulgated alonwgith an Assembly declaration
explicitlystatingthat theFederalRepublicof Yugoslavia has no
territorialclaimson any of itsneighbouring States. Alreadythe
followingday on 28 April,the Yugoslav Presidencyook a decisionto
chargethe staffof the Supreme Commandof the armed forcesith
preparing aplan for a transformatioon theJNA into the armyof the
FederalRepublicof Yugoslavia andwithmakingeveryeffortto withdraw
the remaininJgNA units whose evacuatiiontothe FederalRepublicof
Yugoslavia hadbeenprevented by Muslim-Croaauthorities following
variousassaultson thebarracks. The Socialist FederalRepublicof
Yugoslavia'sPresidencytooka decisionon 4May 1992to orderal1
citizensof the FederalRepublicof Yugoslaviawho were membersof the
JNA in Bosnia and Herzegovitna returnto the territoryof Yugoslavia
withinno more than15 days. The following day the representativoes
theBosnia and Herzegovina Presiden JNA,and EuropeanCommunitysigneda cease-fireagreementin Bosniaand Herzegovinawhich wasto halt
attackson JNA barracksand enableits troopsto pullout. On the same
day theYugoslav Presidenc by a specialstatementcalledon the leaders
of the threenationalcommunities of Bosniaand Herzegovinato reachan
agreementon takingoverthe army formation sadeup ofBosniaand
Herzegovinacitizens. On6 April1992the representative of the Serb
and Croat communitii es Bosniaand Herzegovina agreein Graz to a
comprehensivaend lastingcease-fire. On 5 June 1992the lastYugoslav
soldier leftthe territoryof BosniaandHerzegovina and only 11 days
laterthe Yugoslav Presidency addresa sedemorandumon the engagemenotf w
Croatianarmy troops in Bosniaand Herzegovinato the United Nations
Secretary-General Mr. BoutrosBoutros-Ghali.
The above-mentionefdactsclearly testiftyo the following:
1. The Serbpeoplein the former Yugoslav Republ ofcBosniaand
Herzegovina werdeeprivedby theMuslim-Croat coalitionof the rightto
self-determinatio and compelled, against thewill expressedat the
referendum,to live inthenewlyproclaimed Muslim-Cro atatewhereby,
not only the Yugoslav constitutiaond the constitutionf Bosniaand
Herzegovinawere flagrantlyviolatedbut also the fundamentaprinciples
of the internationa lawgoverning self-determination, inviolabo ility V
bordersand non-interferenc in the interna1 affairsf other countries
(followingthe recognitioonf the Republicof Bosniaand Herzegovinby
the EuropeanCommunitydespitethe above-mentionefdacts andthe explicit
provision adopte dy theConferenceon Yugoslavia to recogni zew States
onlyupon the completionof the negotiatinpgrocess).
2. By promulgatinghe FederalRepublicof Yugoslavia'sConstitution
on 27 April 1992 whichtipulatesthat theterritory of the former
Yugoslav republicwsith the exceptioof thoseof Serbiaand Montenegrono longer formpart of thatof the Federal Republicf Yugoslavia,the
Governmentof Yugoslaviaproceeded immediatet lyensurethewithdrawal
of the JNAand its transformatioinntothe army of the FederalRepublic
of Yugoslavia.
3. The Governmenof Yugoslaviapointedright fromthe onsetof the
Yugoslavcrisisthata political settlement for the terrio tothe
former Yugoslav Republoic Bosniaand Herzegovinacan be reached onlby
consensusof the three nationalcommunities,that is the threenations
livingon thatterritory, namely,theMuslims,Serbsand Croats. The
YugoslavStateand Governmenh taveno territorial aspiratioansainstthe
former Yugoslav Republoic Bosniaand Herzegovina buhtave not
recognizedwhat is knownas the Republicof Bosniaand Herzegovina (many
international protagonis tnsthatYugoslavcrisishave clearly stated
thatrecognition of Bosniaand Herzegovinawas wrong and prematureas
reportedto the Court byOur Government). 4. The FederalRepublicof Yugoslavia has recognizedneitherthe
Republicof Srpskanor the so-called Herzeg-Bosni whichwas proclaimed
the day before yesterday a an independent Republic,lthoughthey, just
as the Governmentof the Republicof Bosniaand Herzegovina, act in fact
as governmentsof thesespecific parts of the former Yugoslav Republoic
Bosniaand Herzegovina. The FederalRepublicof Yugoslavia has not
recognized thesa-calledRepublicof Bosniaand Herzegovina in an
endeavourto remainconsistent in its applicatioonf the conclusionsf
the Conferenceon Yugoslavia whichleftthe recognition issut eo be
settled ata laterstageof thenegotiating process. The Conferenceon
\rr
Yugoslavia has, however recognizedas negotiating partner the
representativeo sf al1 threegovernments.
5. Yugoslaviacannotbe heldresponsible at al1 for the coursethe
eventshave takenon the territoryof the formerYugoslavRepublicof
Bosnia and Herzegovina norfor anycrimesincluding the crimes of
genocide.
6. The Govement of the FederalRepublicof Yugoslavia is
rightfully concerned ft ore fateand thestatusof the Serbslivingin
the former Yugoslav Republo ic Bosniaand Herzegovina anhdas,
therefore, joinedin the internationaleffort toward paeaceful
settlement, theend of the civil,ethnicand religiousconflictin the
areaof Bosnia and Herzegovina a,d the reachingof consensusamongthe
threenationalcommunities on theirfutureset-upwhichwould recognize
the interestsof al1 three communitieosn an equalfooting.
7. The FederalRepublicof Yugoslavian,otwithstanding its grave
situationcaused by the sanctioh nss been sendingreliefaid to the
population livinogn the territorycontrolledby the Republicof Srpska
authorities.It has, also, for monthsbeengranting passage throughitsterritory anduse of its warehousesfor internationareliefaid
deliveries so as to help citizens livign areascontrolled by the
so-calledGovernment of Bosniaand Herzegovina.ThroughtheYugoslavRed
Cross the YugoslavGovemmenthas on severaloccasions offered
humanitarianassistanceto inhabitantsof thoseregionsas well,but
already after the firf stw deliveries anwith the exceptionof
assistanceprovidedby non-governmentaolrganizations and individual
Sarajevo citizens, thhiass been rejectedby theMuslimauthorities.
The laws in forcein the Federal Republicf Yugoslaviarohibit
paramilitary organizatio and thusthe Federal Republic oYfugoslavia
has no paramilitaryof any kind eitherwithin or ouof its territory.
We see noreasonto be accusedof crimeof genocide againstany one
people. Least of al1 for theheinouscrime"againstthe peopleand the
Stateof Bosniaand Herzegovina", as allegedin theApplicant'scharges.
Were the Governmentof Yugoslaviaagainst thMuslimsof Bosnia and
Herzegovina,it would surelynot havepermittedover 37,000 Muslim
refugeesfrom Bosnia and Herzegovinto remainin its territory. Nor
wouldhave tens of thousandsof Muslimrefugeesin transit througthhe
Yugoslav territor youndrefugeand safelyreachedtheir destination sn
variousEuropeancountries.
The boundariesbetweenthe FederalRepublicof Yugoslaviaand the
territoryof the formerYugoslav Republiocf Bosnia and Herzegovina are
controlled byair-borneelectronicson a dailybasisand thereis
thereforeno need forme to reassureyou in Yugoslavia'sstrict
observanceof its internationaclommitments.
1 likewisedo not wishto commenton the accusations made bthe
Applicant regardin the so-called"partitionor "annexation"of Bosnia
and Herzegovinanor on thelatestproposals by the Co-Chairmenf theConferenceon formerYugoslavia, also endorsedby Yugoslavia as wellf,or
a finaland peaceful settlemet nt thecrisisof Bosniaand Herzegovina
and for preventing any furthe loss ofhumanlivesas thisdoesnot
pertain directly toOur dispute overthe implementatioonf the Convention
on the Preventionand Punishmentof the Crimeof Genocide. It is strange
and regrettable tha the Applicant hadtakenpart in the mentioned
negotiations and agreedto the aboveproposals, proceede on the very
firstday on the assumption of thosetalksto conveyan urgentrequestto
the InternationalCourtof Justice for takinginterimmeasuresrather
thanspeedup the process of final peaceful settlement f al1
threenationalcommunities in Bosniaand Herzegovina. The insulting
words used by the Applicantin addressing the representatio vemy
country before the InternatioC nalrtof Justice,and especiallyhis
offensiveattitudeto the Co-Chairmen of the Conferenceon Former
Yugoslavia, in itselfan outrageous act, cannhotlp settletheYugoslav
crisisnor alleviate the traged of al1 thenationslivingin Bosniaand
Herzegovina.
The YugoslavGovernmentmaintainsthe position that theApplicant
has no validauthorization to speakon behalfof Bosniaand Herzegovina.
PresidentIzetbegovicls termof officehas long expired, as notedin the -IV
letteraddressed by thP erimeMinisterof the so-called Governmentof the
Republicof Bosniaand Herzegovina, Mr. Mile Akmacic,to the
United NationsSecretary-Genera and to thehigh-ranking UnitedStates
officials, the copie of which havealreadybeen presentedto this
Court. The Presidency of the so-calledRepublicof Bosniaand
Herzegovinahas meanwhile beenabandoned byal1 its Croatmembers,it
doesno longerenjoythe undividedsupportof al1 itsMuslimmembersas
evidencedby someof their public statements. Therefore, 1 ask in whose
name are "thepeopleand theStateof Bosniaand Herzegovina" beingdefended? Thosewho acceptedand thenrejectedthe Cutilieroplan,those
who have accepted also th eatestplan for resolving the Bosn and
Herzegovina crisisand have simultaneouslyressedchargesagainstthe
Federal Republiocf Yugoslaviaon the groundsthat it envisagesthe split
up of Bosniaand Herzegovinaand its annexationwouldnow like to present
theirown plan,more thanobviouslyrejectedby both theCroatsand the
Serbsin Bosniaand Herzegovina, and not even acceptablto al1 the
Muslims, asan overalland a just solutionfor all.
While the issues1 have raiseddo not fa11withinthe purviewof
this Court1 considerthemsalientforunderstanding Our caseand this is
why 1 have addressedthem in my presentations.Thankyou, Mr. President.
The PRESIDENT: Thankyou verymuch,Dr. Mitic.
Mr. MITIC: Mr. President,may 1 ask you kindlyto invite
Mr. Lopicicto presenthis statement.
The PRESIDENT: Yes, thank you. Dr. Lopicic. Mr. LOPICIC: Thankyou, Mr. President,distinguishedJudges.
Allowme to adducejust some ofthe cruellest crimes against the
Serbianpeoplein the former Yugoslav Republ ofcBosniaand Herzegovina
committedby theMuslimforces.
In the two lastWorldWars alone, thenumberof civilianvictims
amongthe Serbsin Bosniaand Herzegovina was.unmatched.b any European
peoplein the sameperiod, in proportioto their size.
1
Duringtheyearsof the Second WorldWar the Srebrenicadistrict
was ethnicallycleansedof the Serbsand belonged whollyto the followers
of Islam.
The results ofthe genocide against tSherbian peoplein the
Srebrenicadistrict becameevidentafter World War IIand the renewalof
Yugoslavia. Once dominantin nwnbers,thenumbersof Serbianpeople
foundthemselves in a minority afteWrorldWar II, hardlyreaching
one-thirdof the totalnumberof inhabitants.
It isimportantto note that in Yugoslavia,afterthewars and the
irrefutablecrimesagainst the Serbianpeoplenot denied by anyoni en
peace either,no recordsof the victimsor of the criminalswere
established.Most of the perpetratorsof thesegenocidal actw sent
free. In the Srebrenica districo t,ly about15 so-calledcollaborators
of the occupyingforces wereregistered,of which only some were given
symbolicsentencesand servedsome timein prison. We wouldnot be
mentioningthis if new butchersand killers werenot beingrecruited
afreshfromthe same families(thefamily Kamenica, fro Jaglici,the
family SalikovifcromBiljaca,or the familZ yukic,also fromBiljaca).
The aim ofthe terrorthe Serbsare now exposedto is the sameas
duringthe previous wars. It is to expelnow and for al1 the Serbsfromtheseregions. That is why everyattackon Serbian villages leaves in
its wake only desolationb,urnedbuildings, lootedand destroyed
property,destroyed monuments,cemeteries and churches.
Al1 the attacksso far were, asa rule,thoroughly prepared,
systematicallm younted and carried obut large numbers o fell-armed
men. The targets were initiallysmallerSerbiankamletsin nationally
mixed villages,then isolatedSerbian villages surroundedMb uslimones,
and finally the remainingSerbianSettlements.
It seemsthateven the dayswhen attackstakeplace arenot leftto
chance. It is hard to believethatOrthodox festivals and fami platron
saint days(St.George'sDay,St. Vitus'Day, St. Peter'sDay,
Christmas ...),when villagersare celebratino gr dayswhen theyare
busiestworkingon their farms arc ehosenforno reasonwhatsoever.
Thesetacticshave beenconfirmed by al1 subsequentevents.
The firstvictims of attack osn Serb territories and Serbipenople
were the hamlets of Gniona ti he commune of Srebrenicand Bljecevain
the commune of Bratunacon 6May 1992,on St. George'sDay, followedby
attackson other Serbian village and on 7 January1993 (Christmas),the
last large Serbian villagi esthevicinityof Skelaneand Bratunacwere
run over and destroyed.Evenbefore the autumnof 1992, the commune of
Srebrenica had beeanlmost completely ethnical cleansed of Serbs.
The Serbsstarted fleeinS grebrenica itselafs earlyas Apriland
already bymid-Maythe townwas ethnically clean. Only someten older
persons arethere today (if theyare stillalive). A particularly
massive exodus starte after8 May and thekillingof Goran Zekic, Serb
deputyto the thenAssemblyof Bosnia-Herzegovina. His car waswaylaid
by theMuslimsand riddled by fire in the immediate vicinitoyf
Srebrenica. Aftetrhat, theremainingSerbsin the city hadto fleefor
theirlives.Hardly anyone managed t take away even the bare minimum opersona1
belongings. The Serb populationof Srebrenicaand its surroundingsis
now in exile and this commun has been cleansedof the Serbiannation.
The collective perpetrator of thesecrimes are Muslimmilitaryor
paramilitary units.
Al1 the attempts of the Serbs, whformedtheirown, usually small
in numberand poorly-armed village guards, todefendthesevillages were
unsuccessful.
The destruction of villages
It is almost impossible i nuch a brief surveyto mentional1 the
attacks, burningdom and looting of Serbvillages. Almost
one hundred settlement with Serb populationsare in question. We
nevertheless believtehat adescriptionof the desolation of just some of
thosevillages and hamletc san be compelling evidencoef theirepopee.
What happenedto them isin some ways typical ot fhefate of the other
settlements. If differencesdo exist, they mainly concern thenames of
the attackers, the perpetrators t ofe crimes, butnot the finaloutcome
of theirattacks. And this final outcome is always killed people,
plunderedproperty,burned and destroyed villages.
II
THEBRADIHA CRIME
Bradina, the largest Serbian village, w7 ith inhabitants,does not
existany longer; iwas renamedDonjiRepovcion 13 July. A
three-thousand-stron Serbian Muslim forcaettackedthe village fromal1
sides,on 25 May.
A smallnumberof poorly-armed Serbs couldnot hold
the defence linelong and on 26 May,HOS (theCroatianarmed forces),
enteredBradina fromthe directionof Repovciand beganto burn
everything andkill everyone. A greatnumber of Serbs were captured andtakento Konjic: men abovethe age of 18 were takento Celebici campand
women,childrenand the elderlt yo theKonjicSports Hall,the Bradina
ElementarySchooland the prisonof theMinistryof the Interiorin
Konjic. Duringthenightof 27 May,Muslimfundamentalistr saped five
young womenin the SportsHall. After afew days,the womenand children
held in the Sports Hall werreleased andsomeof them remainedin Konjic
with their relativess,ome weremovedto DonjeSelo andCerice,whilea
smallernumberretumed to Bradina.
Duringtheirfirstattackon Bradina,HOS membersand the"green
berets"killeda largenumberof Serbs; 23 of themwere buriedin a
conunongravein frontof Bradina OrthodoCxhurch. An unseenmassacreof
defencelessSerbianpeoplewas carriedout.
What they didnot do duringthat firstattackHOS membersand the
"greenberets"finishedoff on 13 July, whentheyset torchto al1
Serbianhousesin Bradinaand detained a smallnumberof Serbvillagers
thathad remained in the villagein the ElementarSchoolbuilding.
Duringthenight,they raped a largenumberof youngwomen. On thenext
day, Serbs wereexpelledto DonjeSeloand Cerice.Today,in Bradina, which used to be a villagewith over200 Serbhouses,
thereis nothing and no one left: al1 thehouseshave been burnt down,
even the hen coops. The Orthodox Churcwhas burntdown last.
Many Serbsdid not want to surrender to thustashiand the "green
berets"and fled to the wood and to the Serb territoriein Kalinovik
and Ilidza. Of six groups,threemade it, threewere captured: one in
the village ofLjuta (25 persons),anotherin the villageof Sabici
(12 persons)and the thirdon Mt. Igman(9 persons). Al1 were detained
in the notoriousCelebicicamp in tunnelNo. 9 where they werebrutally
torturedand killed.
It has been establishedso far that52 Serbswere executedand
killed at Bradina; the fateof 16Serbsis not known: theyhave not
reached Serb territon ryr aretheyon the listof the Internationa Red
Crossas prisonersin any of the Moslem-runcamps.
III
The Crimein Vase MiskinStreetin Sarajevo
Fourteento sixteenpeople were killed an 114 injuredin an
explosionof charges asthey queued forbread. (Thnumbersof those
killed differin the statementreleasedby the authorities and media
reports.)
INDICATION CONCERNIN PERPETRATOR(S):Securityforces, military or
pararnilitarorganizations controlledby Moslemauthorities.As one of
the executors figure thename of RusmirHakicand the action was
CO-ordinatedby Ejub Ganic.
This seriouscrimereceived world-wide publici throughleading
TV networks,news agenciesand thepress. Accordingto the officia1
storyof the Moslem authoritib esoadcast world-wid and acceptedas
authentic,the innocent civilianswerehit by fourlong-range artillery
0747c/CR93/34/T5/mcs or mortar shellfired from theSerbpositions around Sarajevo This
massacreof civilianseffectively and extensively publicizeon
television understandabolytraged theworldpublic. In addition,it
coincidedwith the expectedSecurityCouncilmeeting which was hel dn
30 May 1992 and which imposedmandatorysanctionson the FederalRepublic
of Yugoslavia. The Governmentof the Federal Republicof Yugoslaviaand
the authoritiesof the SerbianRepublic demanded thatUNPROFORcarryout
a thorough investigatio and submita first-handexpertreport. However,
this requestwas notmet.
The analysis made byexpertsof the Yugoslav armyraisedthe
following issueasnd singledout assumptionssuch as:
1. The massive woundand killingof civiliansqueuing for bread in
Vase Miskinastreet, aspresentedto the public,couldnot have been
causeby 4 missilesfiredfromlong-range artillery systemsr,egardless
of theircalibre, design characteristics anpurpose.
2. The picturesbroadcastby Bosniaand Herzegovina televisio do
not containsubstantial evidenceon the effectsof the missiles,i.e.
craters, tracesof dispersioneffectson the streetand the walls of
nearby buildings, th eemainsof the back partsof the missiles,etc.
3. The massive woundand death ofciviliansas reportedto the
public couldhave beenproducedby speciallydesigned explosive charges
(withtargetedeffects)laid in certain numbera slong thestreetand set
off by remote contro simultaneously.
4. The Bosnianand Herzegovin aV reportshowed seriouslwyounded
people who didnot behaveas peopleinjureda shortwhile ago (the
commentatorsaid that aTV crewhad come to the scenein no time). It is
realisticto assumethat some ofthe victims were broughtto the site
fromlocal hospitals in orderto producea maximum effectson television
viewers. The samequestions and strong evidence thtatiswas an organized
act ofcrimecommitted with the participation ornowledgeof the Moslem
authoritieswere citedin the British dailyThe Independentof
22 August1992whichwere subsequently carried bya largenumberof
reputable Europeandaily newspapers.
It is alsonecessaryto consult areporton thisseriouscriminal
incidentwhichmusthave beendrawnup by UNPROFORin orderto provide
possible answertso the questionsraised byYugoslavarmyexperts.
In the diplomaticcontactsof Yugoslav representative strong
suspicionswere alsosupported that th organizerand perpetratorof this
1
crimewas the Moslemside.
The situationof Serbsin Tuzla (accordingto Mazowiecki'sreport)
Seriousallegationsregarding the preset nteatmentof Serbsin the
Tuzlaareaweremade, in particular duringthenegotiations with Serb
forces regarding accef ssrhumanitarianaid to Srebrenica.Negotiators
for the Serb force alleged that theisituationwas desperateand that
almostal1 the 18,000 Serbssaidto be in theTuzlaareawishedto leave.
Meetingsand interviews wereconductedwith Serb groupfsromTuzla W
townas well as outlyingareasby fieldstaffof the Special Rapporteur
in earlyApril1993. Basedon theseand on the experienco ef
international actorwith extensivecontactswith the Serb minority
there,it is clearthat a number oS ferbs wishto leaveTuzlatown.
It has notbeen possibleto confirmallegationsof large-scale
discriminatorydismissalsfromwork ofSerbs. The first major cause for concern to Serbs living in Tuzla and its
surroundings is their forced mobilization to fight in govemment forces.
In Tuzla, those who refuse to be drafted into government forces are
irnprisoned for 3 to 10 years after a speedy trial. It is repeatedlyalleged thatthoseamongthe lattergroup,in particular
thosein Banovici,who refusethe draft are mobilize by forceand sent
to the frontline to dig trenches.
It shouldbe noted in this contextthatwhere the freedom of the
movementof the Serbsin outlyingvillages is restricted,the authorities
allegethat this is for theirown protection, implying thatthereis some
threat from theiM ruslimneighbours.
The second problemof particularconcernto Serbsis psychological
pressurein the formof abuse from neighbours and colleaguesand the
allegedly constan use of the termchetnik. It is disturbingto note
thata newspapercalled Zmaj od Bosne(TheDragonof Bosnia),which has
published articles cleari lycitinghatred againstSerbs, is openlyon
sale in Tuzla. While it has not beenpossibleto ascertainits
circulation figures it is readily available and evidently tolerb ated
the authorities. Severalissueswere obtainedby theSpecial
Rapporteur's field staff.One exampleof this incitemenm tay illustrate
the point. On 1 April 1993 an articlewas publishedwith stated,
"Instinctiveleyvery Muslim wouldwish to savehis Serb neighbourinstead
of the reverse, however, every Muslim mustame a Serb and takean oath
to killhim." #
The thirdproblemfacedby theSerbsin the Tuzlaarea is their fear
for the future. The possibilityof the social tension betweethe local
population and the influxof displacedpeoplehas particularsignificance
for the Serbsthere. In the lightof their treatmenl tastsummerthese
fearsmay seemreasonable. The prospectof a further large inflo ux
displaced people from Srebrenica, pew oplehaveundoubtedly suffered
greatly at thheandsof Serb forces, is also fuellingtheirconcem over
possible future developments.One groupof Serbs who wereinterviewedemphasized that the were hostages; they felt that non-Serbsdid not
want Serbsto livewith them,while the authorities would not allowthem
to leave. This group,especially thosewho are separated from their
families,was not dauntedby the prospect of givingup their possessions
and assertedthat theywere preparedto go "on foot andin pyjamas".
FACTS0I CRIMESCOMMITTED II THEVILLAGE OF CELEBICI
HUR KONJICII JUIîE1992
About 200 peopleof Serb nationality fro monjicand Bradinawere
broughtto the villageof Brdjaniand held captivein manholesof an oil
reservoir6-7 metres deep,1.5 metreswide and 2 metres long.
That same eveningnew prisonersof Serb nationality werteransferred
to Celebici,to a hanger 30 metreslong and about15 metres wide in which
therewere alreadyabout 200 people,men fromBradina,Bjelovcina,Donje
Selo,Brdjaniand Celebici. The people hadbeen beaten,theirbones
brokenand were sittingon the concrete floor staring straiga htead.
The camp commanderwas Pavo (fatherJanko)Mucic, and his deputy
Azim (fatherIbro)Delic from thevillageof Orahovice,between 33 and
35 years old. Accordingto the released prisoners,Delicdecidedon al1
the torturingand killing,and he himself occasionallt yortured people.
When the inmatesaskedhim why theyhad been imprisonedand broughtto
the camphe replied that it wasbecausetheywere Serbs.
Statements wereextortedfrom prisoners by tortur ien frontof the
camerasof an ArabianTV crew,with Delichimself kicking the prisoners
in the loinswith his boots. Azim Delicorderedthe prisonersto beat each other,e.g.,a son to
beat his fatherwithhis shoeor a stickand viceversa. In particular
he tortured prisoners by forbidd tingmto sleep,orderingthe guardsto
see to it that no-one felalsleep.
Scepo Gotovac,an oldman from thevillageof Bjelovcine,was first
beatenand thenkilledby riflebutts. Whenhe was alreadydead theycut
out a badgeon his bodywith the symbolsof the SerbianDemocratic Party
and finally left the bo unburieduntilthe stench began to spread.
Accordingto the testimonyof Simo (father Todor)ovanovic whwas
also in the camp, Bosko SamoukovficomBradinawas killedin frontof
his sons NedjoandMilan,who helplessly lookedon.
Whilesomeonein the camp was beingbeatenal1 the inmatesin the
camp,curledup on the floor, would close the ears so as not to listen
to the soundsof people beingtortured.
The most notorioutorturerin the Celebicicamp is Zijo (Nurka)
LandjofromKonjic,nicknamed"Zenga",a youth ofabout20, Muslimby
nationality.He took partin al1 thekillingsin the camp, carrying out
Delic'sorders. Zijowould pourpetroland powderon the prisoners and
set themon firecausingsevereburnsandwounds which healedslowly.
Zijopulled the tongu of Mirko (Nedjo)Djordjicwith red-hottweezers
and pushedthemintohis earsin frontof al1 the inmates. He prescribed
ampoulesof petrolto severalprisoners ans det fireto them. He poured
petrolin the palm of Momir (StrajoKuljanin'shand and made himhold it
until it burnedcompletely. He mutilatedthe facesof prisonersand then
broughtmirrorsmakingthemlookat themselves. He made themWear gas
masksand wouldshutoff the air supply, thusextortingconfessions.He
made themengagein oralsex with one another. Al1 the survivorsagreethatthe aimof the torture in the camp was
to physicallydestroyas many people as possible, or maktehemmentaland
physical cripples fo life.
Al1 this torture happened ithe campin Celebici, which was not
visited by any internationahlumanitarian organizatio nor was any
humanitarian relie deliveredto it.
The Helsinki Watch(in its 1993Report)also concluded that the
Muslim side in Bosnia and Herzegovinis largelyresponsible.On
page 263 it said: "Muslim and Croatian forces also are using
intimidation, harassment and violence againsterbs in some partsf
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia to force the flight of Serbs from
areas under their control."
Thankyou,Mr. President.
The PRESIDENT:Thankyou verymuchMr. Lopicic.
ProfessorRosenne,wouldyou liketo begin or would you preferthat
we takeOur breaknow and haveyour presentation in one piece.
Mr. ROSENNE: Mr. President1 am entirelyat your handsbut 1 would
preferif we could take a breaknow.
The PRESIDENT:Verywell,thankyou we shalldo that.
The Court adjournedfrom 11.05 to 11.30 a.m. The PRESIDENT:ProfessorRosenne.
ProfessorROSENNE: Thankyou, Mr. President. May it pleasethe
Court.
May 1 start witha wordof congratulation and best wishesto the
newly elected Memberof the Court,JudgeHerczegh.
May 1 also expressOur wishes for a speedyrecoveryto JudgeAgo.
As is customary,Mr. President,1 will ask the Registrarto be so
kind as to includein the transcriptthe detailed citationa snd notes
which 1 will notrehearsein the courseof thisstatement. 1 shall be
for the most part on the new materialintroducedby the
concentrating
Applicants. Where,as is oftenthe case, there has been repetitionof
the argumentsand contentions adduced last April,1 shall referback to
statements which 1 made then.
At the outsetlet me say, withrespect,that the statementswhichwe
heard yesterday werefor themost part nothingmore than attemptsto
reopen mattersalready decided by the Courtin the Orderof 8 April
last. 1 shallbe amplifying this in the courseof this statement,but 1
would like to add this. There is nothingin the Statuteor in the Rules
of Courtwhich permitsthe reopening of earlierdecisions. Article 75,
paragraph3, of the Rulesof Court refers to a freshrequestbased on new
facts. A documentof 1992, such as was circulatedon 24 August,two days
ago, ought to have beenintroduced lasAtpril. It cannotbe regardedas
a new fact. In my submissionit comeswithinthe scope ofthe doctrine
set forthby the Court in its Judgment of 1985in the revisionand
interpretation phasoef the case concerningContinental Shelf
(Tunisia/LibyanArab Jamahiriya). Mr. President,1 am goingto supplement the writtencommunications
sent to the Courtby the distinguished Agenotf the FederalRepublicof
Yugoslaviaon 9 and 23 August andthe oralstatements delivere today.
1 will accordinglybe dealingin themain with threeaspects: (1)
the new ground for jurisdictionintroducedon 6 August togethewrith its
amplification introduco ed22 August; (2) the new request bythe
ApplicantParty foran indication of provisionalmeasures; and (3) the
requestby the Respondent Party ft ohre indicatioof provisional
measures. Much of parts(2) and (3)was discussed bythe Partieslast
Apriland has alreadybeendealtwithby the Courtin its Orderof
8 April,and again1 repeat,in orderto save the timeof the Court,1
would respectfully requet statwhatwe said thenbe regardedas
incorporated by referenc e,use a phraseof the other Party, where
relevantin thisstatement.
The FederalGovernment of Yugoslaviaon 9 and 23 Augusthas
submittedits observations on thenew requestand some of its
arnendments. It has alsoon 9 August submitteidts own request fothe
indication of provisionalmeasures. In the circumstanceosf this case,
it was feltthat it wouldbe preferable to embodythis in a separate
document andnot incorporate it, as wasdone lastApril, inthe
observationsenvisagedin Article74 of the Rulesof Court.
Mr. President,1 have to say now something abouthisunending
Streamof documents whichwe keep on receivingfrom the Applicant Party,
much of which, as1 have said,has been"incorporateb dy reference" into
the statementswe heardyesterday. The same thinghappened last March
and it is happeningagainnow. The second requestof 27 July,just abouta month ago,has been followedby aseriesof communications of 29 and
30 July, andin Auguston 4, 6 (threecommunications)7 ,, 10, 13,22
(threecommunications)2 ,3 and 24 August,quitea lot. 1know that the
Applicationinstituting theseproceedings of 20 March in paragraph 135
(p. 124) reserved theright"to revise, supplemeno tr amend the
Application"; and asimilarreservation appearo sn page 3 of the second
request whichwe are now considering. 1 really must, with respect,
request the Court to give some direct ofvehere the lineis to be
drawn,how many more revisions can be accepted. 1 do notknow how a
party is expectedto be able to prepareits pleadingswhen there is this
v
unending flood of sometimesheavy documentationflowingin al1 the time.
On enteringthe Peace Palace thismorning,we were handed another
memorandumof law whichwas filedin the Courtyesterday. 1 would
respectfully ask thC eourtto hold thisto be inadmissiblein these
proceedingsand direct thA epplicantto includeit in its Memorialif it
wants it tobe considered.
Having said that,Mr. President,1 want to disposebrieflyof two
new documents aboutjurisdiction.
With regardto the Applicant'sletterof 10 August, none of the
instruments mentioned therecontainsa provisionconferring Jurisdiction W
on this Court. With regardto the further additional supplementary amendo ment
13 August,which,by theway,merely embellishes the earlier
communication of 7 May, itself abelatedreplyto the questionput by
JudgeGuillaumein thehearingsof lastApril, the Courthas dealtwith
the letterof 8 June 1992to the Presidentof the ArbitrationCommission
of the International Conference P forcein Yugoslaviain paragraphs 27
to 32 of the Orderof 8 April. That Orderhas left open the rightof the
Partiesto raisejurisdictionaq luestionsin the properway at the proper
time,in due course. In this incidental phase,1 have nothingto add to
what 1 said on page 28 and followingf the transcriptof the Court's
meetingon 2 April(CR 93/13),and 1 would respectfulluyrge the Courtto
maintainthe position as setout in the Orderof 8 April.
With regardto the extremelylong Memoranduomf Law,rather
difficultto readbecauseit is so badly reproduced, submitt ond
22 August regarding ArticleVI11 and IX of the Genocide Convention1,
failto see what thishas to do with any requestfor the indicationof
provisional measures and certainlynot withthis secondrequest. The
questionof Article VI11was arguedadequately last Apriland led the
Courtto include paragraph47 on page 22 of the Orderof 8 April. 1 do
not knowwhy this issuehas beenreopened. The remainderof that
memorandumhas absolutelyno relevancetoday. We have notchallenged the
Court's findingthatit has prima faciejurisdiction sufficientto
supportan indication of provisional measureswhilereserving Our rights
to raisefulljurisdictionaq luestionslaterwhen the timecornes.The
Applicantshave performeda useful service fo which1 thankthemby
indicatingthe pointsrequiringspecial attention and facilitatinOur
researchinto the complicate documentationof the draftingof theGenocideConvention. It goeswithout saying thatperhapsit is betterto
Say it, that 1do notacceptthe conclusions which aredrawnin that
memorandum, but then in the 36 hours which haelapsedsincewe received
thatdocumentwe couldnot possiblyhave hadthe time to undertakeany
furtherresearchinto the legislative historyof the Convention.
One other remark irsequired at thisstage,however. 1 understand
that earlyin August the Applicant'sPermanentMissionto the
United Nations in New Yorkdepositeda purporteddeclarationof
succession to theViennaConvention of 1978on Succession of Statesin
Respectof Treaties. That Conventionis not yetin force, and1 have
nothingto addto what 1 saidon this aspect lasAtpril. This issue,
alongwith others, canbe pleadedin the properway in due course,and
will be repliedto in the properway in due course. Provisionalmeasures
proceedings, incidentt al themainline proceedings, an ret the proper
timeor the proper placf eor argumentand judicialdecisionon these
delicate mattersof Statesuccession.
In thisgeneral contexti ,t is difficultto escape the impression
thatwhat theApplicantis really doing in this phaseis to launchwhat
lookslikean appealor a request for reconsideratio of theOrderof
8 Aprilor evenan interimjudgment,as 1 said,the Applicant seemsto be
tryingto reopenmatters alreadd yecided. No new hard factsof relevance
have beenbrought, on whichan indicationof provisionalmeasures
depends. Massesof documents, memorandaand argumentationhave beenlaid
beforeus. Al1 thisproperly belongt so a memorialon themeritsin
which the issuesof jurisdiction,includingthe interpretatioannd the
statusof the variousadvisory opiniono sf the Badinter Commission,
shouldbe properly pleaded,giving the responden atproper opportunittyo
answerthemas contemplated in the Rulesof Court. Mr. President,1 now turnto thenew requestitselfof 27 July and
by way of preface1 would saythis. The Applicantls actionsin thisand
in otherrespects recall the actio ofsNicaraguaas applicantin the
well-known Military and Paramilitary Activitiin and against
Nicaragua case. There,too, shortly aftet rhe Orderof 10May 1984
indicating provisional measurofsprotection,Nicaraguasubmitted a
secondrequest. 1 recall - 1 was workingon thatcasebut 1 have nothad
access tomy papers at thispresenttime -that thePresidentof the
Court,the lateJudgeElias,in thename of the Courtgave short shrift
to thatrequestwhichwas not even formally considered by the Court,
eitherbecauseit reopened matters already decided byCt ohurtor was
manifestly beyond thecompetenceof the Court. A referenceto this
appearsin paragraph 287 of the Judgmentof the Courtof 1986on the
Meritsin that case (I.C.J.Reports 1986,p. 144). 1 respectfully
suggest thatthe Court mightfindguidancein thatprecedentfor the
presentcase.
1 now want to lookat the amendmenof 6 August, which1 understand
was incorporated by refereni ceyesterdaylsstatement,so 1 have to deal
with it at a littlebit of length.
That amendmentpurportsto finda basisof jurisdiction in the
Treatyof Saint-Germain-en-Lao ye 10 September 1919betweenthe
PrincipalAlliedand Associated Powersand the Serb-Croat-Sloven etate
(asYugoslavia was thencalled). That Treaty was madp eursuantto and in
implementatioonf Article51 of theTreaty of Peace withAustriaof the
samedate.
Chapter1 of thatTreaty deals with variousmatters concerning
different individual in Yugoslaviaaffectedby the PeaceSettlementwith
Austria,Hungaryand Bulgaria.It is oftenclassified amongst the
MinoritiesTreatiescharacteristio cf theVersaillesPeaceSettlement.Articles 2 to8 relateto thewholeterritoryof Yugoslaviaas
established bythe 1919 Peace Treatiea s,d in so far asthoseArticles
dealtwith the nationality op fersons residentn transferred territories
1 thinkare transitional provisions.This is particularly thceaseas
regards Articles3, 4 and 5 of the Treaty.Article9 applied only to
territory transferre to Serbiasince1 August1913,and 1 suppose,if we
are to follow the Applicant's thinkic ng,ldnow be regarded absinding
only onBosniaand Herzegovina.Article 10 containedspecialprovisions
for the Muslimsand Article11 was the clause dealinwgith the
thoseprovisions and the settlementof differencesof
supervisionof
opinionrelatingto them. 1 shallbe returningto that.
The remaining Articles arcontainedin Chapter IIand dealtwith
somemiscellaneous issue asrising out ofhe dissolutionof the
Austro-HungariaEnmpire.Article16,which is citedin the supplementary memorando um 6 Augustat
page 3, is includedin ChapterII. Article11, the compromissorc ylause,
doesnot extendup to ChapterII. It is limitedto Chapter1 of the
Treatyand there is no dispute settlement clause applica tole
Chapter II. Accordingly, even ifthe Court, contrartyo Our view,should
findthat thenew titleof jurisdiction advancedby theApplicantcanbe
accepted,it could,of course,onlybe acceptedin accordance with its
own terms and, by itoswn terms,thatclausedoesnot extendto
differences of opinionon questionsof law orof fact relatingto
Article16.
Having said that,it is certainlynot clearto us what this
amendmentis about, whatit is intendedto achieve, what is its function
in the present case ,hy, indeed, this Treathas been broughtinto the
caseat all. The amendmentis presented as "an additionto the
jurisdictional base shathave alreadybeen setforth"but we have not
been giventhe slightest indicatio to showhow this affectsthe caseor
the petitaof theApplication institutingthe proceedingsof 20 March
last, al1 of whichrelatesto the applicationof the Genocide Convention
and to that instrumenatlone. Those petitaare set out in paragraph2,
on page4 of the Orderof 8 Apriland it is by them, andby themalone,
thatthe admissibilityof thenewly introducedtitleof jurisdictionis
to be assessed. The Treatydoesnot providea basisof jurisdiction in
respectof requested measure whicharenot withinthe competenco ef the
CourtunderArticle 9 of the GenocideConvention.
Sinceits inception, this cas has alwaysbeen entitledcase
concerningApplication of the Conventioon the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of GenocideNo objection to that titlehasbeen made bythe otherside. Indeed,the coveringletterof the
Applicant's Partg yeneral Agentof 27 July,and the text of the second
Applicationitself,as well as of the delugeof documentsreceivedsince,
al1 use that titlefor the case.
If the case concerns the applicatio on the GenocideConvention and
the jurisdiction is basedon Article36, paragraph1, of the Statute,it
is appropriate that thecompromissory claus of thatConvention -
Article 9of the 1948Genocide Conventio nservesas the titleof
jurisdiction for the case. Quitefrankly,1 failto see how a
compromissory claus in a Treatyof 1919 - assumingfor themoment, for
the sake of argument, thatthisTreatyis stillin force andthat its
compromissory claus can be appliedwithoutdoingviolenceto its terms,
something which 1 strongly doubt- couldbe the titleof jurisdiction for
a case concerning the appplicati ofna Convention conclude in 1948.
From the start,therefore, we are facedwith a heap of obstacles.
There areothers.
Can it seriouslybe contendedthatthisTreatyis stillin force
withoutchange? That Treatyformedan integralpart of the Peace
Settlement of 1919. It was made pursuantto and in orderto complete
Article51 of the Treatyof Saint-Germain-en-Law yeth Austria. It
reflected the politics altuationof thattime. One of the "Principal
Alliedand Associated Powers"of thatTreatydid not ratifyit, in fact
it was notevensubmittedto the constituent organo sf thatcountryfor
ratification.Two of the "Principal Alliedand AssociatedPowers"named
in thatTreatybecame alliedto Germanyduringthe Second World War. The
British Empirehas becomethe British Commonwealt of Nations. The
Serb-Croat-Sloven State,as it is named in thatTreaty, hasitselfundergone many fundamental chan since1919, whichcannotbe without
relevance, as the Studyof the Secretariaton the LegalValidityof the
Undertakings concerning Minoritie(E/CN.4/367)points outat page 64.
One otherremark. On page 14 of the supplementary memorandoum
6 August,it is allegedthat theMinorities Treatiesof theLeague of
Nationshave beenreliedupon sinceWorldWar IIand reference is made to
a case concerningAustriain the EuropeanCommission on HumanRights. No
other support is givenfor the statementthat "Statepracticesince
WorldWar IIindicatesthat theminority treaties di not lapse". Here a
parenthetical is required. We are not concernewith the Minorities
Treatiesin general,nor with the specific obligation of Austria,a
thirdStatein theseproceedings.We are not concerned with the
provisions for the protecti ofnminoritiesin the Treaty of
Saint-Germain.We are only concernew dith the compromissory clausof
thatTreatyand its admissibilityas a titleof jurisdiction for the case
as instituted bytheApplicant Parto yn 20Marchlast.
Now 1 have examined thatecisionof the EuropeanCommission in the
casewhich is named Isop against Austria. It is correctthat the
Austrian PeaceTreatyof 1919 is mentioneden passant in the submission
of the individual applicai nt thatcase. As 1 understand it,in that
document,which is recitedin the decisionof the EuropeanCommission,
the historyof the equalityof languagesin the area concerned fro1m867
is traced (Yearbookof the European Conventionon Human Right1962,
p. 108 at p. 112).Thereis no mention whatsoeveorf the Treatyof 1919
with the Serb-Croat-SloveS neatein thatdecisionof the European
Commission.
1 thereforefailto see the relevanceof this particular reference
in the supplementar yemorandum. 1 will not sayanything moreabout that now,when at mostwe are
concerned with the thresholdjurisdictionof the Courtto indicate
provisional measuresof protectionin a caseconcerning Application of
the Conventionon the Prevention andPunishment of the Crime of
Genocide, and, as the Orderof 8 April lastso convincinglyshows,
exclusively with that.
Nevertheless,for the limitedpurposesat hand,1 have to draw the
Court'sattentionto the precise wording of the compromissorcylause,
Article 11, of the Treaty. A simplereadingof the textof the clause
itself is quiteenoughto showthat Article 11 doesnot confer any
jurisdiction ratione materiaeon the Court, actinunderArticle36,
paragraph 1, of the Statute,in relationto the case whichwas instituted
by the Applicationof 20 Marchlast. Here 1 would respectivel ryequest
the Registrar to includethe fulltextof thatprovisionin the
transcript of today'sproceedingsbecauseit is only rendered in part on.
page 4 of the supplementary memorand ofm6 August,so that 1 can
economizeon the Court'stime.
"The Serb-Croat-SloveS neate agreethatthe stipulations
in the foregoingArticles, sofar as theyaffect persons
belongingto racial, religiouosr linguisticminorities,
constitute obligatioo ns internationalconcernand shallbe
placedunderthe guarantee of theLeagueof Nations. They
shall notbe modified without the conse oftthe Councilof the
Leagueof Nations. The Unitedstatesl,the British Empire,
France,Italy andJapanhereby agree not to withholdtheir
assentfromany modification in theseArticleswhich is in due
form assentedto by a rnajorityf the Councilof the Leagueof
Nations.
lTheUnited States did not ratify thisTreaty, whichwas never
submittedto the Senate(Ch.L. Wiktor(ed.), 5 Unperfected
Treaties of the UnitedStates ofAmerica 1776-1976403 (1980)). The Serb-Croat-SlovenState agreesthatany Memberof the
Councilof the League ofNations shallhave the rightto bring
to the attentioonf the Councilany infraction,or any danger
of infraction,of any oftheseobligations, and that the
Council may thereupon takeuchaction andgive suchdirections
as it may deem propearnd effectivein the circumstances.
The Serb-Croat-SlovenState further agreesthatany
differenceof opinionas to questionsof law orfact arising
out of theseArticles betweetnhe Serb-Croat-SloveS neateand
any one of the PrincipaAlliedandAssociatedpowerslor any
other Power,a memberof the Councilof the Leagueof Nations,
shall beheld to be a disputeof an international character
underArticle14 of the Covenant of the Leagueof Nations. The
Serb-Croat-Sloven Statehereby consenttshat any suchdispute
shall,if the otherparty theretd oemands,be referredto the
PermanentCourtof InternationaJ lustice[nowthe present Court
by virtueof Article37 of the Statuteof 19451. The decision
of the Permanent Courshall befinaland shall havethe same
form andeffectas an awardunderArticle13 of the Covenant."
(Emphasisadded.)
lThePrincipal Alliedand ~ssbciated Powers arelistedin the
Treatyas the UnitedStates of America[which,as indicated, did not
ratifythe Treaty],the British Empire, France, Italand Japan.
The BritishEmpire then included,as signatoriesin itsname,the
representativeosf theKingdomof GreatBritainand Ireland,Canada,
Australia,theUnionof SouthAfrica,New Zealandand India. Even if, for the sake ofargument,a casecan be madeout forsaying
that the United Nation now takesthe placeof the Leagueof Nationsin
the protection of minorities- although,Mr. President,care isneeded
beforedrawing analogie sith the roleof theUnited Nations in the
Mandates system and theSouth West Africa litigationowingto the
presenceof Article77 in the Charter(Article 77 indicatesthat the
trusteeship system shallapply to territories at the ti1 m9e,5, were
held undermandateas may beplacedundera trusteeship system m byans
of a trusteeshipagreement. Provision which was pivota1in the
proceedings regardin Namibia). As 1 said,although care is needed
before drawing analogieswith themandatesystem,this and the 1946
resolutions of the United Nations General Assema blyof the concluding
Assemblyof the Leagueof Nationswhich have been citedby the other
Party, donot operateto amendin any way the substantive provision of
Article 11 of the Treatyof Saint-Germain.
Furthermore,no difference of opinionas to questionsof lawor of
factbetweenany one of the countries designated as PrincipalAlliedand
AssociatedPowers orany other Power a membe of the non-existent Council
of the Leagueof Nationsand Yugoslavia, arisingout of the Treaty, orof
a demandby thatother Power thatthe difference of opinionshouldbe W
referredto thisCourt,has beenbroughtto Ournotice. Someof those
Powers areactivein the Security Council and in the EuropeanCommunity
underwhose combined auspicet she International Conferenoce the former
Yugoslavia(ICFY)is lookingfor a solutionof the conflict,
and units of
their armed forcesare serving in theUnited NationsProtection Force-
UNPROFORto give it its correctname. The Applicant certainldyoesnot comewithinthe categoryof States
mentionedin the compromissoryclause. The Treaty doesnot conferany
jurisdictionratione personaeon the Courtin relationto the
proceedings instituto ed 20 Marchlast. Not bythewildest stretch of
imagination can theApplicantin thiscasebe regarded, by someprocess
of Statesuccession, as having become paartyto the Treatyof
Saint-Germain,againassuming,for the sakeof argument that theTreaty
is stillin forceand thatthe depositarG yovernment, the Govemment of
France, is ableand willingto acceptand circulateto the States
concernedsome formof notification by the ApplicP anttythatit
accedesto the Treaty. Incidentally, 1 will also point outhatthe
Treaty is drawnup inthree languages, th Frenchto prevail. Although
registeredunderArticle18 of the Covenant of the Leagueof Nations,the
Treatyis not beingreproduced in theLeague of Nation sreaty Series.
We may wish to compareal1 three language versionin the processof
interpretingthatTreaty, ifthe question should arise a,nd we would
thereforebe gratefulif theApplicant woulb de so kindas to furnishus
with a legibletext in Italian. We have not beenableyet to locate it
in that language.
But let us assumethatthe Treatywas inforce for the Socialist
Federal Republiocf Yugoslaviaand thereforecomeswithinthe scope of
the instrumentsof the FederalRepublicof Yugoslavia cited btyhe Court
in paragraph22 of the Orderof 8 April. Thatwouldnot helpthe
Applicant. The ruleof law,carefullyenunciated in the nintheditionof
Oppenheim's International La(SirRobertJenningsand
Sir Arthur WattsV,ol. 1, Book 1at 240 (1992)),is thatwherea
separationor secession leavesthe predecessorStatecontinuing in
existence, anythin ghatwas inforcein respectof the predecessor Statecontinuesin force in respect of its remaining territory.here is no
way in which the Applicant Statean relyon it or makeany claimsbased
on it.
Quitesimply, the compromissoryclauseof the 1919 Treatyis
irrelevant to this case, and i purportedintroductionas a titleof
jurisdiction is eithermisleading, oran attemptto broadenthe
jurisdictionof the Courtand the scopeof the casebeyondwhat the Court
has already itselfestablished provisional inytheOrderof 8 April.
This ground for jurisdictiois accordinglynot acceptable.
The attempt to introducthisas a basisof jurisdiction is flawed
r
for another reason. This is a caseconcerning thaepplicationof the
Convention on the Preventioand Punishmentof the Crimeof Genocide.
That is the basison which the Applicatioinstitutingthe proceedings
has been framed. That is the basison which the caseas been argued in
the past. That is the basis,the exclusivbeasis1 might add,on which
the Court groundedits Orderof 8 Aprillast.
The introduction ofthe 1919 Treaty bringsn entirelynew element
into thecase. It is not a simple introductioof a complementary
foundation forthe Court'sjurisdictionsuch as was acceptedby the Court
in the Military and Paramilitary Activitiin and against Nicaragua, -
Jurisdiction and Admissibilitcase, whereas 1 understandit, the Court
was satisfiedthatthe amendment did not transformthe disputeinto
another dispute(Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against
Nicaragua, Jurisdictionand Admissibility,I.C.J. Report1984,p. 392
at p. 426,paras. 77 to80).
I
We do not have herea simpleamendmentwhich theCourtmightbe able
to acceptas a matterof principle,as is suggestedin paragraph27 of
the Orderof 8 Aprilwhen it was dealingwith itsthreshold jurisdiction
underArticle41 of the Charter. The amendment fairlaynd squarely fitsintothe typeof amendment
which the case-lawof the Courtdoesnot accept, for the simplereason
that it transforms thecase intoanother case altogethew r,ichdoesnot
fit in with the caseas it was originally formulated by the Applic andt
as it has subsequentlybeen addressedby the Respondent andthenby the
Court.
Throughthis amendmenw te are no longerfacedwith a straightforward
case concernint ghe applicatioof the Genocide Convention. We now have
anothercasealtogether, onr eelatingto the applicatioonf the Treaty of
Saint-Germain.It is notclear whether thii ss beingtackedon to the
original case,or is in substitutionfor it. May 1 thereforequotefrom
the recentJudgmentof the Courtin the case concerning Certain
Phosphate Lands in Nauru, PreliminaryObjections:
"69.Article40, paragraph1 of the Statuteof the Court
providesthat the'subject of the dipuste'must be indicatedin
the Application; and Artic38, paragraph2, of the Rulesof
Court requires'theprecise nature of the claim'to be
specifiedin the Application. Theseprovisions are so
essential fromthe pointof view oflegal security and the good
administratioonf justicethat they were already,in substance,
part of the textof theStatuteof the Permanent Couro tf
InternationaJlustice,adoptedin 1920 (Art.40, first
paragraph),and of the textof the firstRulesof thatCourt,
adoptedin 1922 (Art.35, secondparagraph), respectively.On
severaloccasionsthe Permanent Court hat do indicate the
precise significanc of thesetexts."
This Courtthenreferredto the Orderof the PermanentCourtof
4 February1933 in the Prince vonPless Administration,Preliminary
Objections,caseand to the well-known Société Commercialede Belgique
case,and concluded that acertain claim advancedby the applicanptarty
in that case inits Memorialwas "inadmissibleinasmuchas it
constitutes,both informand in substance, a new claim,and thesubject
of the dispute originall submittedto the Courtwouldbe transformed ifit entertainedthat claim" Certain Phosphate Lands in Nauru,
Preliminary Objections, I.C.J. Reports 1992, p. 240 at pp. 266-267,
paras. 69-71).
1 would like to stress the referencethere to "legalsecurityand
the good administrationof justice". 1 submitthatthis is exactly what is happeninghere. He have been
presentedwith a new groundfor thejurisdiction of the Court, without
any indicationof how that allegedground forjurisdictionis linkedto
the Applicationinstitutingthe proceedingsh,ow it affectsthe case
whichthe Courthas been invitedto entertain.
In my submission, thismendmentto theApplication of 20 Marchlast
and to the requests forthe indicationof provisionameasures is
frivolous andvexatious. It is palpablyunarguable and shoul be
rejected bythe Courtout of hand. It isthe typeof pleadingwhich 1
believein many interna1systemsof litigation would entitt lee adverse
partyto an awardof costs, regardleso sf the outcomof the case asa
whole.
1 do not wantto say anythingmore about thatTreatynow, nordo 1
want to enterinto anydiscussion about theSecretariat'sstudy, ifit is
relevantat all, whichin Ourview it is not, thatwouldbe in connection
with the Merits.
Mr. President,Membersof the Court,1 now returnto thenew request
for the indicationof provisionalmeasuresof protection submitteodn
27 July last. Thishas been the subjectof observations submitteodn
9 and 23 August by thedistinguishedgent for the FederalRepublicof
Yugoslavia,and 1 will limitmyselfto a few additionalremarks.
As we see it and as have said,thewholeexerciseis nothing more
thana renewed attempt to obtainfromthe Court indication shichthe
Courtrefusedto make last April. It is somethinglikean appealor an
applicationfor a re-hearingor someotherrecourse. The Applicantis
takingtwo bitesat the cherry. Thereis virtually no difference ofsubstance betweenthemeasuresrequested now and thoserequested last
March in so far as relatesto the applicationof the Genocide
Convention. Thereare someadditional measures requestb ed, thesego
far beyond the applicati ofnthe Genocide Convention,hich is what this
case is about, and do not cornwithinthe jurisdictionof the Courtunder
the GenocideConvention or underany other title of jurisdictionin force 6
betweenthe Parties.
Leaving asidethe verbiage and persona1insinuations unworth of the
Bar foundin thatdocument, a key to thisnew approachcouldbe found in
the extraordinaryset of requestscontainedin Section E, Provisional
Measuresrequested, on page 52 of the typescripotf thenew request. 1
wouldlike to draw yourattention particularl to No. 4:
"TheGovernment of Bosniaand Herzegovinamust havethe
means [andthen in quotation marks1, am not quitesurewhy]
'toprevent'the commissioo nf acts ofgenocide against its own
People asrequiredby Article 1of the GenocideConvention."
This is in effect repeateidn No.8. This is exactly thesame as the
requestsmade lastAprilthat the Cours thould interpreotr re-interpret
paragraph 6 of Security Council resoluti 713 of 1991,that is,you will
recall,the basicanis embargo,and there-interpretatio whichis
requestedis to exemptBosniaand Herzegovina fromthe scopeand thrust
of paragraph 6 of that resolution.Thiswas made perfectly clear
yesterday. 1 do not proposeto repeatnow what 1 said in April about
this, and 1 would respectfully refer the Cot urmy remarks atpage 19
and followingof the session of2 April (CR 93/13,pp. 19 ff.).
It is significant ,r. President,that sincethe Orderof 8April
the Security Councila,ctingunderChapterVI1 of the Charter,has not .
giventhe slightest sign that it is preparedto accedeto that demandofthe Applicant.1 do not thinkthatdifferences of opinionamongthe
Membersof the Security Council are the on reasonfor that.
Now, another questionrises,who arethe addressees of the proposed
measures? 1 was puzzledabout that buatfterhearingthe explanations
yesterday,it seemsthatNos. 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are presumablyto be
addressedto al1 the ContractinPgartiesof theGemcide Convention.But
thoseContracting Partiesare not partiesto thislitigation, and the
Court cannot address any indicati ofnsrovisionalmeasuresto them.
The explanationwe heardyesterday, and theemphasisthenplacedon the
word "clarify",indicatesthatwhat is wantedis an advisory opinion
addressedto the world atlarge. Provisional measures proceedii nga
contentious casuenderlimitedjurisdiction between defined parties are
not a properor adequate vehiclfeor obtainingan advisory opiniona,nd1
respectfully submi that the Court canngotantthe requested measures.
No. 10,Mr. President, relate to the activitiesof theUnited Nations
Protection ForceU,NPROFOR. Buthisis a matterfor the
Security Council, actinunderChapterVI1 of the Charter, and for the
States which havecont.ributeunitsof theirarmedforcesto UNPROFOR.
1s it being seriously contende Mr. President,thatthe Courtcan,
throughan indication of provisional measuresgive ordersto be
implementedby UNPROFOR? 1s it beingseriously contende that the Court
can,throughthemechanismof anindication of provisional measureof
protection,give indicationsabouthow the Forceis to act,how the
contingentswhichmake it up and whichare made availabl by individual
States areto comportthemselves, what decisions the Security Cou andil
the individualStatessupplying contingent to the Forceare to take?
But themost significant aspeo ct thenew Applicationis that long
sectioncommencing on page 53 of the typescripunderthe heading:"F. The Court shouldalso IndicateProvisionalMeasuresProprioMotu",
somethingwhich we regardin the circumstancesof this case as
ultra vires thecompetence of theCourt.
Here theCourt is first asked "to fashionwhatever typeof relief"
the distinguished Memberosf the Courtmight deem to be "necessaryand
sufficient"to protectthe people and the Stateof Bosniaand Herzegovina
from extermination and annihilati bynmeans of genocide.
There is only one interpretatioof this, that the Court is being
invitedto take political decisions,to substitute itself fotrhe
politicaljudgmentof other competent organst,he Security Councioln the
w
international planaend the individualStateson the nationallevel.This is far beyondthe competence of the Court,which has inthe past
repeatedly refused w,hen facedwith an issueof politicalchoice,to
substituteits judgmentfor that of the interested States. Such a choice
couldonly be madeon considerationo sf political expediency not on
legal considerations.
That curious requestis followedby a catalogueof acts whichare
categorized as being l'genocidalcts"for thispurpose. These include
l'partition ,ismemberment, annexatia ond incorporationby the
respondentl'. 1 do not find anyof thoseacts - which are noteasily
givento abstract legal definitio on qualification- listedin the
GenocideConvention.They are al1 political processes whichmight or
mightnot beacceptableto the international communit or to individual
States. This is indeed confirmeb dy the penultimatpearagraphon page 55
of the typescript.Here the Courtis invitedto contactthe responsible
authorities of Yugoslaviaand the Presidentof the Republicof Serbia - 1
think,but 1 am open to correction, that thismeans the Republic of
Srpska, nota partyto this case ....
ProfessorBOYLE: Mr. Milosevic.
ProfessorROSENNE: 1 acceptthat correction or clarification.
- ..., and informthem that they and theg irvernments
"mustimmediately ceaseand desistfrom planning, preparing,
proposing, conspirin and negotiating (anndegotiating,
Mr. President)to partition, dismember annexor incorporate
any portionof the sovereignterritoryof the Republic of
Bosniaand Herzegovinal (emphasisadded).
It is quiteclear whatliesbehindthis. Nothingmore than that the
Court, throughan indication of provisional measureosf protection having
as its objectto protectthe respective righto sf the Partiesin the case
instituted on 20 March last,should embroilitselfin the peace processof the International Confereno ce the formerYugoslaviain Geneva, in
which incidentally the Applicant Statis also participating; that the
Courtshouldattemptto dictateto the reponsible Goverment of
Yugoslavia, and perhapssome other participantisn thatConference,how
theyshould participate how they shouldnegotiate,in the strenuous
attempts which arebeingmade to reacha negotiated settlemeo nt this
tragiccivilwar inBosnia-Herzegovina which al1 of us would liketo see
brought to a negotiate end as quicklyas possible. 1s thatconsistent
with the functionof the Courtas it hasbeen set out in Article38,
paragraph1, of the Statuteof the Court? 1s it seriously to be expected
w
thatthe principal judicial organof theUnitedNationswouldtry and
prevent - 1 would even gofurtherand use theword "thwart" - the
successful negotiation o the end of anarmed conflicta,n objectiveto
which other principal organosf theUnitedNations, aboveal1 the
SecurityCounciland theSecretary-General as well as such autonomous
bodiesas the United Nation sighComrnissione for Refugees,are exerting
so much energy?
Difficile est satiramnonscribere! 1 findit difficult not to be
satirical:
1 ventureto suggest, withal1 respect,thatan indication of
provisional measures alot nge linessuggested bythe Applicant would not
facilitate the achieveme nta negotiated settlemeo nt the civilwar
and conflict.It would exacerbatt ehe conflict anpdostpone theend of
the sufferingsof the peopleto the Greekcalends.
It is in this context tha1 would invite the Court to takdue note
of another passagein thenew request. #
In the thirdparagraphon page 54
of the typescriptt,he general Agentfor theApplicant appealt so the
Courtto keep the situationunder"activeand constant revief wor as long
as this case shallappearon the General List". The general Agentadds: "And in regardto this latter point1,must todaymost
respectfully reques inadvancethatthe Courtthoroughly and
carefully examine and enqui ireoany request or attemptto
removethiscase from the GeneraL list for anyreason..."
Does thismean that theCourtis beinginvitedto indicate, as a
provisional measuroef protection,thatno attempt is to be made to
settle the caseout of court orto discontinueit in any way?
Discontinuancoef a pendingcase can onlybe done through theduly
appointed authorit of the Statein question, andit ranksas an act of
State, similarto thatwhichis explainedin paragraph13 of the Orderof
8 April. 1s it an acceptable concep thatdiscontinuanceis to be
prohibitedthroughan indication of provisionalmeasures,on the ground
thatthe discontinuance migh adversely affectthe rightof the State
concernedto proceedto a trialof thatcase? Mr. President, do 1 need
to answer thatquestion?
1 am sure that if there shoulde any agreementto discontinuethe
case or any attemptto removethiscase from theGeneral List the Court
will actin accordancewith the appropriate provisionosf the Statuteand
the Rulesof Court. Theseare sufficient to protect therightsof al1
parties insuchan eventuality.For it mustnot be forgotten that the
Respondenttoo has rights inan instanceof discontinuance as is
recognizedin Article89, paragraph 2,of the Rulesof Court.
To summarizethispart of my argument, theries no need forany of
the provisional measuressuggestedin thenew request. Wheretheyare
not alreadycoveredby the termsof the Orderof 8 April, part of which
was addressedto the ApplicantParty(by theway, an aspect whichwas
overlookedyesterday), theyare not withinthe jurisdictionof the Court
or it wouldnot be appropriate fotrhe Courtas a judicialorganand as For
the principal judicial organ tofeUnited Nationsto indicatethem.
theywould harmthe delicate negotiation nsw in progressaimedat
bringingthe armed conflictto an end.
Mr. President,1 now turn to the lastpart of my argument,relating I
to the requestby the Respondent foarn indicatioof provisional
measuresto be observed bytheApplicantso as to protectthe rightsof
the Respondenwthile thislitigationis in progress. The matteris
clearlyset outin theApplication of 9 Augustlastand the supporting
evidence is annexed,so 1 do not needto repeatthatnow. However,
following yesterday's statement, further clarificationrequired.
In my statementof2 Aprillast, 1 made it clearthatal1 the rights
of the Governmentof the Federal Republicf Yugoslaviunderthe Statute
and the Rulesof Court,"including buntot limitedto its rightto
presentcounter-claimsa,re reserved"(CR 93/13at p. 36). Duringthose
hearingsthe otherside complained that thReespondenhad notpresented
the Courtwith any facts. Thiswouldhave beendone in the
Counter-Memoriahlad the casereached thatprocedural stage, matter,by
theway, itselfopen to conjecture.However, followin thenew request -
for provisional measureos, which noticewasreceivedonlyon 27 July
and not, asalleged,on 8 April last,the Respondenthas filedwith the
Courtan initial - 1 repeatan initial- presentationof facts. This
presentationis basedon the resultsof competentinvestigationn,ot on
newspaperreports. The Applicant State obviouslyoesnot likethat. These facts certainlyshow that there is, in the words of
paragraph45 of the Order of 8April (at p. 22), " a grave risk ofacts
of genocide being committed"and that Bosnia-Herzegovina too is under a
clear obligation to do al1 in its power to preventthe commissionof such
acts in the future.The Courtgave effectto that findingin operative paragraphoB n page 24
of thatOrder,againconveniently overlooked yesterda y.e Court agreed
that there was a graveriskof actsof genocide being committedagainst
As we haveheard this
the Serb populationof Bosnia andHerzegovina.
morning,thatgrave risk stile lxists.
Now Article41 of the Statuterefersto the respective rightosf
either party,or, in its Frenchtext,le droit de chacun.There is an
elementof mutualityor reciprocity in the powerof the Courtto indicate
provisionalmeasuresof protection.The Statuteitselfdoesnot proceed
fromany presumption that only rightsclaimedby the applicanptarty can
w'
be inneed of protection through provisiom nalsures. This approachis
continuedin the Rulesof Court: Article73, paragraph1, very clearly
commits"a party"to make arequest for thi endicationof provisional
measures "at any time". 1 recallthatthe possibility of a discrepancy
betweenthe Englishand the Frenchtextsof Article41 of the Statutewas
noted byJudge ad hoc Thierryin his dissentingopinion inthe
provisionalmeasuresphaseof the Arbitral Award of31 July1988 case
(I.C.J. Reports1990,p. 64at p. 79, footnote1). Now that
discrepancydoesnot affectthe point 1 am making,thatthe Court'spower
to indicate provisional measur issnota one-wayStreet,that it is
equallyopen to the respondentto make a requestto protect itsrights,
whatevertheyare,and thatincludesthe rightswhich the respondent is
entitledto seek to protect through presenting counter-claimin
accordancewithArticle 80of theRulesof Court. However,that
discrepancybetweenthe Englishand French texts mightbe foundto be
relevantto some of the argumentsaboutArticle41 whichwe heard
yesterday.
The practiceof the Courthas two requirements beforthe Courtwill
indicate provisional measur ofsprotection.One is the matterof
urgency, and the secondis the anticipatiothat if the provisional
0755c/CR93/34/T13/cwmeasures arenot indicated,irreparableharm willbe causedto therights
whicha party is seekingto protect.The factswhich havenow been
presented tothe Courtclearlydemonstrate, if indeed anydemonstration
wereneededgiventhewide coverageof the situationin al1 themedia (on
whichthe other side is relyingso intensively),that thesamedegreeof
urgency,and the sameunhappyprospectof irreparable Barm,existin the
caseof the Serb ethnicgroup in Bosnia andHerzegovinaas is being
allegedwith regardto other groups in that population.
The factswhichthe Respondent Statheas submittedto the Court
certainly indicat ehatthe respondenthas a prima facie righ to bring
counter-claimisn accordancewithArticle 80 of the Rulesof Court,and
thatthisrightis as much in need of protection as any possible rights
of the ApplicantParty.
1 alsohave to emphasize whaits containedin paragraph 3of the
Applicationof 9 August. In paragraph51 of its Orderof 8 April1993
the Courtstated:
"thedecisiongivenin the presentproceedings in no way
prejudgesthe questionof the jurisdictionof the Courtto deal
with the meritsof the case,or any questions relatingo the
adrnissibilitof the Application,r relatingto themerits
themselves,and leaves unaffectetdhe rightof theGovemments
of Bosnia-Herzegovina aYndgoslaviato submit arguementisn
respectof thosequestions ...".
The present requesbty Yugoslaviafor theindicationof provisional
measuresof protectionto protect theSerb ethnicgroupfrom the
commissionof actsof genocidebeing perpetrate by the authoritiesof
the ApplicantParty is entirelywithoutprejudiceto al1 the rights of
the Respondentunderthe Statuteand the Rulesof Court,as to its future
conductof the case. This includes its right soraiseobjections to the
jurisdictionof the Court andto the admissibilitof the Applicationt,o
presentcounter-claimsa ,nd totake whatever positioit finds
appropriate atthe time should agreemenbe reachedon the discontinuanceof theseproceedings, or should theApplicantinform theCourtin writing
that it is not goingon with theseproceedings, underArticle 88 or
Article 89 of theRulesof Court. And 1 would respectfully as the Court
to recall this standardrulealwaysappliedin the exceptional and
incidental proceeding on requestsfor the indication o provisional
measuresof protection.
Mr. President and Member of the Court,in the perorationto its
Judgmenton the meritsin the Nicaraguacasethe Courtrecalledthe
Contadora Processthenin progress in tryingto settle the political
problemsof thatarea. May 1 quote:
"theCourtcouldnot but takecognizance of this effort, which
merits full respectand consideratio as a unique contribution
to the solution of th eifficultsituationin the region. The
Court is awarethat considerabl progresshas been achievedin
the main objectiveof the process..." (Military and
Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua
United States of America), Merits, I.C.J. Reports 1986,
pp. 14 and p. 145,para.291).
How apt,how appropriate to the situationnow reachedin the
International Confereno ce the FormerYugoslavia. 1 am sure thatthe
Court would not wish to disturbthe progressthathas been achievedthere.
1 thankyou, Mr. President,and distinguishe Membersof the Court,
foryour patienceand 1 would onceagainlike to expressmy appreciation
w
to the distinguishea dnd learned Registrafor the courtesieshe has
shownme. ProfessorEtinski,as Co-Agent, has askedme to tellyou that
he will presenthis conclusionsduringthisafternoon's session. Thank
you,Mr. President.
The PRESIDENT: Thankyou verymuch,ProfessorRosenne. Andow, as
1 think the Parties are already aware, #
twoJudgeswish to ask questions
of both Partiesand 1 will askthemto proceedwith their questionn sow.
Firstis JudgeBolaAjibola. JudgeAJIBOLA: The Court,on the firstrequest for an indicationof
provisional measure presentedto itby theApplicantin this case,
issuedon 8 April1993 the followingorder:
"TheCourt
Indicates,pendingits finaldecisionin the
proceedings institutedon 20 March 1993by the Republic
of Bosniaand Herzegovina against tF hederalRepublicof
Yugoslavia(SerbiaandMontenegro), the following
provisional measures:
A. (1)Unanimously,
The Governmentof the Federal Republicf Yugoslavia
(SerbiaandMontenegro) shoul immediately,in
pursuanceof itsundertaking in the Conventionon the
Preventionand Punishmentof the Crimeof Genocideof
9 December 1948, takeal1measureswithinits power
to preventcommission of the crimeof genocide;
(2) By 13 votesto 1,
The Governmentof the Federal Republicf Yugoslavia
(Serbiaand Montenegro) shoui ldparticular ensure
thatany military,paramilitary or irregulararmed
units whichmay bedirectedor supported by ita ,s
well asany organizationsand personswhichmay be
subjectto its control, directio nr influence,do
not commitany actsof genocide,of conspiracy to
commit genocideo,f directand publicincitement to
commit genocideo,r of complicityin genocide,
whether directed againt steMuslim populatioonf
Bosnia and Herzegovinor against any othernational,
ethnical, raciaolr religious group;
B. Unanimously,
The Governmentof the FederalRepublicof Yugoslavia
(Serbia and Montenegra o)d the Governmenof the
Republicof Bosniaand Herzegovina shoul dot take
any actionand shouldensurethatno actionis taken
whichmay aggravate or extendthe existingdispute
over the preventioonr punishmentof the crimeof
genocide,or renderit more difficultof solution."
What steps have beenakenby each Party to ensurecompliancewith
this Order?[Traduction]
A l'occasionde la première demandeen indicationde mesures
conservatoires présentp éer la Partierequéranteen laprésenteaffaire,
la Cour a rendu, le8 avril 1993,l'ordonnance suivante:
"La Cour
Indiqueà titreprovisoire, en attendantson arrêt
définitif dansl'instanceintroduitele 20 mars 1993par
la Républiquede Bosnie-Herzégovine cont reRépublique
fédérativede Yougoslavie(Serbieet Monténégro),les
mesures conservatoirs esivantes:
A. 1)A l'unanimité,
Le Gouvernement de la République fédérad tive
Yougoslavie (Serbieet Monténégro)doit immédiatement,
conformémentà l'engagementqu'ila assuméaux termes de
la conventionpour la préventioet la répressiondu
crimede génocidedu 9 décembre 1948,prendretoutes les
mesures enson pouvoirafinde prévenirla commission du
crimede génocide;
2)Par treizevoix contreune,
Le Gouvernement de la République fédératidve
Yougoslavie (Serbie etMonténégro)doit en particulier
veiller à ce qu'aucunedes unités militaires,
paramilitaireosu unités armées irrégulièr esi
pourraientreleverde son autoritéou bénéficierde son
appui,ni aucune organisation ou person qui pourraient
se trouversousson pouvoir,son autorité,ou son
influencene commettent lecrimede génocide,ne
s'entendenten vuede commettrece crime, n'incitent
directement et publiquementà le commettreou ne s'en
rendent complices, qu'tunl crimesoit dirigé contre la
population musulman de Bosnie-Herzégovine ou contre
toutautre groupe national ethnique,racialou religieux;
B. A l'unanimité,
Le Gouvernementde la République fédératid ve
Yougoslavie (Serbieet Monténégro)et le Gouvernementde
la République de Bosnie-Herzégovindoiventne prendre
aucune mesure et veillerà ce qu'iln'en soit prise
aucune,qui soitde nature à aggraverou étendre le
différendexistantsur la préventioe nt la répressiondu
crimede génocide, ou à en rendre la solution plus
difficile." Quelles disposition chacunedes Partiesa-t-elleprises pour
assurerle respectde cetteordonnance?
The PRESIDENT: Thankyou verymuch,Judge Bola Ajibola. And now
the second questioncomesfromJudgeLauterpacht.
JudgeLAUTERPACHT:Thankyou,Mr. President.
1. This questionrelatesto theletterdated1 April 1993from
Mr. Vladislav Jovanovic, Federalinsiterfor Foreign Affairosf
Yugoslaviato the Registrarof the Court. The question requires some
introduction.
2. The relevant portionf the ForeignMinister'sletteris in
paragraph4, the termsof which are setout almostin full inparagraph 9
of the Court'sOrderof 8 April1993. The passageas therequoted may be
completedby the followinwgordsof introductiow nhichprecededit:
"TheYugoslav Government welcom the readinessof the
Courtto discusstheneed of orderingprovisional measure so
bringto an end inter-ethnicand inter-religious armed
conflicts withinthe territoryof the 'Republiof Bosniaand
Herzegovina', anidn this contextt"
and the restof the passageis as quotedby the Court:
"recommendsthat theCourt,pursuantto Article41 of its
Sttuteand Article73 of itsRulesof Procedure, orderthe
applicationof provisionalmeasures,in particular:
- to instruct the authorities controb llAd. Izetbegovicto
complystricly withthe latestagreementon a cease-fire in
the 'Republicof Bosniaand Herzegovina'which wentinto
forceon 28 March 1993;
- to directthe authoritiesunderthe controlof A. Izetbegovic
to respect thGenevaConventions for th Protectionof
Victimsof War of1949and the 1977 Additional Protocols
thereof,sincethe genocideof Serbslivingin the 'Republic
of Bosniaand Herzegovina' is being carro ied bythe
commission of veryseriouswar crimes which are in violation
of the obligation notto infringeupon the essentialhuman
rights; - to instruct the authorities loy tolA. Izetbegovic to close
immediately anddisbandal1 prisonsand detention camps in
the 'Republicof Bosniaand Herzegovina' in whichthe Serbs
are being detainedbecauseof theirethnicoriginand
subjectedto acts of torture,thuspresenting a real danger
for theirlife and health;
- to directthe authorities controlled by A. Izetbegovicto
allow, without delayt ,he Serb residentsto leave safely
Tuzla, Zenica,Sarajevoand other places in the 'Republicof
Bosniaand Herzegovina', where theyhave been subjectto
harassment andphysicaland mentalabuse,and havingin mind
that they may sufferthe same fateas the Serbs in eastern
Bosnia,which wasthe site of the killing and massacre sf a
few thousandSerb civilians;
- to instructthe authorities loyat lo A. Izetbegovicto cease
immediately any further destructioonf Orthodoxchurchesand
placesof worshipand of otherSerb culturalheritage,and to
release and stop further mistreatmo enal1 Orthodoxpriests
being in prison;
- to directthe authoritieu snder the controlof A. Izetbegovic
to put an end toal1 acts of discriminationbasedon
nationalityor religionand the practice of 'ethnic
cleansing', including thediscrimination relatin to the
deliveryof humanitarian aid, againt ste Serb populationin
the 'Republicof Bosniaand Herzegovina'."
3. The questionsthat 1 would liketo put to both Parties are the
following:
(a) Do al1 the requestsin the letterfa11withinthe scope ofthe
preventionof "genocide" as is definedin ArticleII of the Genocide
Convention?
(b) If the answerto Question1 is No, which requestsare regardedas
not fallingwithinthatdefinition?
(c) If the answer Nois given inrelationto any of the requests, on
what basis is the Courtsaid to havejurisdiction in respectof them
and, in particular,is the conceptof forum prorogatum relevant
here?
i 1. La questionconcerne la lettredu 1 eravril 1993 adressée au
Greffierde la Courpar M. VladislavJovanovic, ministre fédéral des
affaires étrangère de la Yougoslavie.Elle nécessite quelques mots
d'introduction.
2. La partie pertinentdee la lettredu.ministre des affaires
étrangères est le paragraphe4, dont le contenu est rapporp téesque
intégralementau paragraphe 9 de l'ordonnancede la Courdu
8 avril1993. Le passage cité dans l'ordonnancepeut êtrecomplétépar
les motsd'introductios nuivants,qui le précédaient :
"Le Gouvernement yougoslav se félicitede ce que la Cour
soit prêteà examiners'il estnécessaire d'indiquer des
mesuresconservatoirea sfinde mettre un termeaux conflits
armésinterethniquee st inter-religieua xyant lieuà
l'intérieurdu territoire de la 'Républiquede
Bosnie-Herzégovine et, dans ce contexte,...",
la suitedu passageétant telle que citéepar la Cour :
"recommandeà la Courd'indiquer, conformément à l'article41
de son Statutet à l'article 73 de son Règlement,des mesures
conservatoirese,t en particulier :
- de donnerdes instructions aux autoritéssous le contrôlede
M.A. Izetbegovic pour qu'ellesse conforment strictement au
dernieraccordsur le cessez-le-fed uans la'République de
Bosnie-Herzégovine qui est entréen vigueur le 28 mars 1993;
d'ordonneraux autorités sous le contrôlede
M. A. Izetbegovic qu'elles respecten les conventiond se
Genèvede 1949pour la protectio des victimesde la guerre
et les protocoles additionned ls1977 à ces conventions,
étantdonné que le génocidedes Serbes vivand tans la
'Républiquede Bosnie-Herzégovine' e ent traind'être
perpétré par des crimesde guerre très graveq sui enfreignent
l'obligationde ne pas violerles droitsessentiels de la
personne humaine;
-de donnerdes instructions aux autorités loyaleà s
M. A. Izetbegovic afiq nu'ellesfermentet démantèlent
immédiatementtoutesles prisonset tous les camps de
détentionse trouvantdans la 'Républiqud ee
Bosnie-Herzégovine et où les Serbes sont détenu en raison
de leur origine ethniqueet fontl'objetd'actesde torture,
ce qui met en sérieuxdangerleur vieet leur santé; - d'ordonneraux autorités soul se contrôlede
M. A. Izetbegovicde permettresans tarderaux habitants
serbesde quitteren toutesécurité Tuzla, Zenica, Sarajevo
et les autres localitédse la 'Républiquede
Bosnie-Herzégovine où ils ont faitl'objetde harcèlements
et de mauvais traitements physiques et menta enx,enant
comptede ce qu'ilsrisquentde subir le même sort que les
Serbesen Bosnie orientaleq ,ui a été le théâtrdee meurtres
et de massacresde quelques millierd se civils serbes;
- de donnerdes instructions aux autorités loyale s
M. A. Izetbegovicpour qu'ellesmettentimmédiatement finà
la destructiondes égliseset lieuxde culte orthodoxee st
d'autresélémentsdu patrimoine culturel serbe,et pour
qu'elleslibèrent etcessentde maltraiter tous les prêtres
orthodoxes détenus;
- d'ordonneraux autorités sous le contrôle de
M. A. Izetbegovicde mettreun terme à tousles actesde
discrimination basé sur la nationalitéou la religion ainsi
qu'auxpratiquesde 'purificatioe nthnique',y compris la
discrimination exercéeen cequi concernel'acheminemend te
l'aidehumanitaire, à l'encontre de la population serbe dans
la 'Républiquede Bosnie-Herzégovine"'.
3. Les questions queje désireposeraux deux Parties sont les
suivantes :
A) Toutes les demande contenues dans lalettre entrent-elle dans
le cadrede la prévention du "génocide", teqlue défini à l'articleII de
la convention sur le génocide?
B) Si la réponseà la premièrequestionestnégative, quelles
demandessont-elles considéréc esmme n'entrant padsans cette
définition ?
C) Si une réponse négativeest apportéepour l'unequelconque des
demandes,sur quelle base la Couraurait-elle compétence pour en
connaître et, en particulier, leconceptde forum prorogatumest-il
pertinenten l'occurrence ?
Thankyou, Mr. President. The PRESIDENT: Thankyou very much,JudgeLauterpacht.
Those are the twoquestionsaskedof both Parties. They should be
available immediatelyin writingto both Parties. For the replies,the
Court consideredthe matterthis morningand decidedthat the replies
couldbe givenorally this afternooi nf eitherParty wishesto do sobut
if eitherPartyprefers tomake a writtenanswer, then couldwe have it
please by 11 o'clocktomorrowmorning? That is perhapsa littletight if
the answers involveother materials and the Court addedthat any
supplementary materialthat aPartywishesto add to the answerto the
questionmay be givento us by about themiddleof next week.
Perhaps 1 shouldadd thatany supplementary material, pleas should
be absolutely strictlc yoncernedwith the answerto thesequestionsthat
have beenput to theParties.
Now 1 thinkthat concludesthe business for thim sorning. This
afternoonwe will meet againat 3 o'clock tohear the replyof Bosniaand
then at 5 o'clock tohear the replyof Yugoslaviaunlessindeed they wish
to reply earlier than that time.
Thankyou very much.
The Court rose at12.45 p.m.
Audience publique tenue le jeudi 26 août 1993, à 10 heures, au Palais de la Paix, sous la présidence de sir Robert Jennings, président