UNIŠTAVANJE KULTURNE BAŠTINE KAO RATNI ZLOČIN I ZLOČIN PROTIV ČOVEČNOSTI: PRAVNA PRAKSA MEĐUNARODNOG KRIVIČNOG SUDA ZA BIVŠU JUGOSLAVIJU (MKSJ)
THE DESTRUCTION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE AS A WAR CRIME AND CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY: THE JURISPRUDENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA (ICTY)

Author(s): Olivera Lazarević
Subject(s): Cultural history, Criminal Law, Inter-Ethnic Relations, Wars in Jugoslavia
Published by: Građanske inicijative
Keywords: Cultural heritage; International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY); Yugoslavian Wars; Dubrovnik; City Hall in Sarajevo; Old Bridge in Mostar
Summary/Abstract: The Yugoslavian Wars resulted in the death of thousands of people and the vast destruction of cultural heritage. Among the most prominent pertaining cases are the burning of the City Hall in Sarajevo, the destruction of the Old Bridge in Mostar, and the shelling of the Old Town in Dubrovnik. In order to prosecute and punish crimes listed above, but not limited to, the UN established the ICTY in 1993. In the case of the burning of the City Hall in Sarajevo, there was no judgment, partly due to the death of Slobodan Milošević prior to sentencing. Those responsible for the destruction of the Old Bridge were found guilty of this crime after the trial, but the Appeal Chamber acquitted them on the grounds of military necessity. Last but not least, Pavle Strugar and Miodrag Jokić were both sentenced for the shelling of the Old Town in Dubrovnik. Besides the results, cases also differentiated in the categorization since all three of them were classified as war crimes but the first one was also prosecuted as a crime against humanity. The destruction of cultural heritage during an armed conflict has long been neglected in terms of prosecution and punishment at the international tribunals for which reason the jurisprudence of the ICTY represents a valuable contribution to international humanitarian law. Additionally, the archive of the ICTY provides researchers with extensive material for the analysis of the Yugoslavian Wars.

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