Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Marko Škrobić

Court	Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Section for War Crimes, Appelate Division, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Case number	X-KRZ-07/480
Decision title	Second Instance Verdict
Decision date	22 April 2009
Parties	Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina Marko Škrobić
Categories	War crimes
Keywords	war crimes, murder, evidence, witness testimonies
Links	Verdict

Summary

On 31 July 1992, in Novo Selo (Kotor Varoš Municipality), Marko Škrobić, as a member of the Kotor Varoš HVO (Croat Defence Council) unit, entered the house of Glamocak family, together with four other armed persons. He ordered Boro Glamocak and his family to leave the house immediately. He also forced Stojko Glamocak, Boro’s father, out of the adjacent building and marched the family into the direction of the village of Ravne. On the way to that village, Marko Škrobić shot Stojko with a pistol, leading to his death.

A Trial Court had found Škrobić guilty of war crimes and sentenced him to 10 years’ imprisonment on 22 October 2008. Both the Defence and Prosecution appealed to this decision.

The Appellate Panel dismissed as unfounded an appeal filed by the Prosecutor’s Office; dismissed appeals filed by the Defence and upheld an appeal filed by the Defence regarding the sentencing. The Panel held that the Trial Court had failed to properly take account of the fact that Škrobić was a married father of two minor children. Therefore, the Panel revised the sentence of Škrobić to nine years’ imprisonment

Procedural history

The indictment againt Marko Škrobić was raised on 14 January 2008 and confirmed on 16 January 2008. On 6 February 2008 the Court issued a Decision on termination of custody upon which the accused was immediatly released from custody. Bail had been set as a measure securing the presence of Škrobić.

The trial against Škrobić commenced on 9 May 2008. On 22 October 2008 the Court pronounced the first-instance verdict finding Marko Škrobić guilty of the war crimes against civilians and sentenced him to 10 years of imprisonment.

Legally relevant facts

On 31 July 1992, in Novo Selo (Kotor Varoš Municipality), Marko Škrobić, as a member of the Kotor Varoš HVO (Croat Defence Council) unit, entered the house of Glamocak family, together with four other armed persons. He ordered Boro Glamocak, his wife Stana, his underage daughters Irena, Dajana and Sanela, to leave the house immediately and forced them out of the house. He also expelled Stojko Glamocak, Boro’s father, out of the house and took the family into the direction of the village of Ravne. On the way to that village, Marko Škrobić fired a bullet from a pistol in Stojko Glamocak’s chest, resulting in Stojko’s instant death.

Škrobić was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Prosecution and Defence both appealed against the length of the sentence, and the Defence appealed on the grounds of essential breaches of provisions of criminal procedure, criminal law, and erroneous or incomplete determination of the facts.

Core legal questions

Was the Trial Court correct by applying the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina as applicable substantive law?
Did the Trial Court conduct an objective evaluation of the credibility of the witness testimonies relating to the identification of the accused?
Was the sentence imposed by the Trial Court correct?

Specific legal rules and provisions

Article 3 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Article 51(1),(2),(3) of the First Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions.
Article 173(1)(c) (killings, torture, inhumane treatment), Article 180(1) (individual criminal responsibility) of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Court's holding and analysis

First, the Appellate Panel discussed whether the Trial Court erred in applying the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CC of BiH) instead of the Criminal Code of the SFRY, as argued by the Defence. The Panel found that it did not. The Panel recalled that the legality of the application of the 2003 CC of BiH was fully considered by the Trial Court and also exhaustively considered and addressed by the Constitutional Court in its Makthouf decision (para. 33-34).

The Panel found that the Trial Court conducted an objective evaluation of the credibility of the witness testimonies relating to the identification of the accused, and refused the ground of appeal of the Defence that argued otherwise (para. 100-103).

Regarding the Sentence of Škrobić that the Defence had appealed to, the Panel held that the Trial Court had “failed to properly exercise its discretion under the law regarding the appropriate duration of the criminal sanction, and fully consider the possibility of pronouncing a more lenient sentence” (para. 109). According to the Panel, the Trial Court had considered the extenuating circumstances on the part of the accused I the terms that he was ‘a married family man’, but that it should have more precisely considered that Škrobić was a married father of two minor children (para. 110). Therefore, the Panel revised the sentence of Škrobić to nine years (para. 111-116).

Further analysis

A. Aida, "Time For Truth: Review of the Work of the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2005-2010”, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, 2010.

Instruments cited

Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (GC IV), 12 August 1949, 75 UNTS 287, entered into force 21 October 1950.
Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (AP I), 1125 UNTS 17512, 8 June 1977, entered into force 7 December 1978.
Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 27 June 2003.

Related cases

Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Appellate Panel), The Prosecutor v. Tomo Jurinović, Case No. X-KR-08/642, Decision on Transfer of Criminal Proceedings, 22 April 2009.