Criminal justice constitutes a fundamental element of transitional justice and provides a sound basis for facing the past, building trust within communities and eventually also reconciliation. Final rulings play a key role in this context, since they confirm the responsibility of perpetrators, provide a certain satisfaction to victims and their families and send a clear message about the unacceptability of crimes. Also, they establish beyond reasonable doubt all acts that constitute elements of crimes, thereby providing not only historical, but also court established facts. It is important to mention that the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) is still active. Its activities, however, mostly relate to appeals and other issues, whereas criminal proceedings related to war crimes have been assigned to domestic judicial authorities.
One of the challenges in processing war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the abuse of dual nationality, especially in case of persons who are also nationals of Serbia and Croatia. Persons accused or convicted of war crimes frequently use their dual nationality to avoid criminal prosecution and escape to the neighbouring countries that refuse to extradite them. An example of such practice is the case of Branimir Glavaš. Following a ruling for war crimes, which had not yet become final, he used his dual nationality and escaped to Bosnia and Herzegovina, hoping to avoid prosecution in Croatia.
The ”Zvornik Brigade” case constitutes another important step towards establishing the responsibility of direct perpetrators in genocide that took place in July 1995. The accused were arrested at the end of 2023 and the trial before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina started in June 2024. These processes do not only highlight a lengthy and challenging path towards justice, but also the need for a more consistent and efficient institutional approach to processing war crimes.
At the same time, the trial of Novak Đukić, accused of having committed the massacre at Kapija in Tuzla is still being postponed, allegedly because of his health condition. This leads to dissatisfaction among the families of the victims and creates the impression of impunity. Similar obstacles are present in case of the Belgrade trial against eight persons accused of murders of civilians in Kravica. This case is also characterised by frequent ”procedural” delays, which makes the attainment of criminal justice even more complicated. It is important to note that the accused are accused of war crimes, and not participation in the Srebrenica genocide, which illustrates the long-term refusal of the judiciary of Republika Srpska to indict persons for the Srebrenica genocide.
When it comes to transitional justice and its public narrative, the most important ruling might be the 2023 ruling that is still being discussed – the ”Stanišić and Simatović” case. The 2023 first-instance ruling additionally confirmed the involvement of the State Security of Serbia in the war and crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This ruling continued shaping the narratives about the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2024, leading to discussions among institutions and NGOs about the international character of the war and the need for a deeper process of facing the past in the Serbian society. Although this is a single ruling and case, it comprises crimes committed in several cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina – including in Sanski Most, Bosanski Šamac and Bijeljina. Stanišić and Simatović used their capacities and official positions at the State Security of Serbia to participate in the financing and assisting Arkan’s followers, who committed numerous crimes in these areas, including murders. In spite of the importance of the ruling, it has received extremely scarce media coverage, especially in the Republic of Serbia. It can be expected that civil society organisations in the region will primarily use this ruling as a context for the activities related to facing the past.
In addition to the above mentioned cases, a total of 29 indictments were brought against 84 persons for war crimes in 2024. Most indictments were brought by the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, namely 22 indictments against 66 persons. These data show that judicial authorities do invest certain efforts in war crimes processing, although they face numerous challenges, including also a large number of unresolved cases and accused persons who remain unavailable. This year is also the 30th anniversary of the end of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, following the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, but also the 30th anniversary of the genocide committed in Srebrenica. There is little time to prosecute persons responsible for war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina committed in the period 1992-1995, and such proceedings have multiple implications, not only judicial ones. War crimes processing is the most important basis for clarifying all war-related events in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which still have an impact.
The adoption of the Resolution on Srebrenica Genocide by the General Assembly of the United Nations has contributed to raising awareness about crimes that were committed and the importance of facing the past. This Resolution also serves as a reminder of the need for continuous engagement in the field of justice and reconciliation, not just in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also in the neighbouring countries and throughout the world. However, the political context of its adoption was abused by some Bosniak and Serb politicians, who used it as a means of mobilisation and manipulation, which additionally deepened political divisions, instead of contributing to the focus on victims, open dialogue and fact-based building of trust in the region. As a response to this Resolution, an all-Serb assembly was held in June 2024, during which the Resolution was rejected. The Assembly of the entity Republika Srpska adopted a series of decisions and laws that additionally undermine the state and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, thereby deepening the institutional and political crisis in the country. The Resolution is primarily an international message that aims to preserve the memory of the victims of genocide and encourage countries to mark July 11, to show that denial of genocide and glorification of perpetrators is contrary to the values of the UN, and that education and remembrance prevent future crimes. Although the Resolution is not a legal act or a ruling, it is an international message that rulings must be complied with.
Final rulings in war crime cases significantly impact transitional justice processes. NGOs and educational institutions use such rulings as a basis for the development of educational programmes, expositions and other initiatives promoting the culture of remembrance and understanding the past. On the other hand, there are also educational institutions denying the rulings and the Hague Tribunal and depicting courts as political institutions in spite of all available evidence and facts.
The media also play an indispensable role in the process of transitional justice, especially when it comes to raising the awareness of court established facts, rulings and perpetrators of crimes. When I say ”the media”, I do not mean the social media, but rather print and electronic media or portals, since that is a much more comprehensive topic. In order for the goals of facing the past to be achieved efficiently, it is necessary to create and spread contents using court and historically established and relevant facts. In addition to the most logical goal – informing the public based on facts – such media content can motivate direct participants in programmes related to facing the past to include certain contents. Depending on how many of them will do that will also determine how well known the content of such programmes will become, provided that topics related to facing the past are properly presented in the media. For example, when it comes to the context of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the use of facts from the Stanišić and Simatović ruling and other rulings can considerably raise the awareness of everyone regarding court facts and have a more comprehensive effect on them and the society at large, which leads to a more effective achievement of goals related to facing the past. The media that raise the awareness of the public in such a manner about facts related to the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina therefore directly contribute to the process of facing the past. As a result, the space for a dialogue about topics that are usually used for polarisation, especially in smaller mono-ethnic communities, is expanded. The media can also serve as a tool for spreading false and completely fake narratives, knowingly or unknowingly, and they therefore constitute an extremely important factor for achieving or undermining social consensus, depending on the manner of information spreading. Civil society organisations in particular bear the responsibility for updating their approach as new facts are established, and the media can be a great help in this. War crime rulings need to be analysed, put in a context for ordinary readers, since they are legal or court documents, and facts from such documents showed in such a manner that they provide information to the public about findings such as ballistics or forensics.
In spite of formal efforts to process war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2024, transitional justice and criminal justice are still facing numerous hurdles. The abuse of dual nationality makes it possible for the accused to avoid being held accountable and frequent procedural delays additionally undermine the trust in the judicial systems. Although final rulings have the potential to contribute to facing the past, their enforcement in practice is frequently limited, while the process of reconciliation is slowed down by political obstructions and social divisions. Instead of justice becoming a means to build trust, the slow and selective court proceedings additionally deepen the feeling of injustice among communities, while at the same time raising the question whether those that are truly responsible will ever be held accountable.
Hikmet Karčić is a scientific associate at the Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law – University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is the author of the book Torture, Humiliate, Kill: Inside the Bosnian Serb Camp System, published by the University of Michigan in 2022. He was a global fellow of the Auschwitz Institute-Keene State College in 2017. He frequently comments on international media platforms. His articles focus on extremism, the far right and mass crimes and were published in newspapers such as Haaretz, Newsweek and Foreign Policy.
