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(Photo provided courtesy of the ICTY)

(Photo provided courtesy of the ICTY)

The Prosecutor v. Duško Tadić

Court International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Appeals Chamber, The Netherlands
Case number IT-94-1-A and IT-94-1-Abis
Decision title Judgment in Sentencing Appeal
Decision date 26 January 2000
Parties
  • The Prosecutor
  • Duško Tadić
Categories Crimes against humanity, Torture, War crimes
Keywords Appeal, crimes against humanity, Prijedor, reduction, Sentence, war crimes
Links
Other countries involved
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Summary

After the takeover of Prijedor (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the attack launched against the town of Kozarac (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in 1992, the non-Serb civilians were detained in several prison facilities, where they were beaten, sexually assaulted, tortured, killed and otherwise mistreated. Duško Tadić was the President of the Local Board of the Serb Democratic Party in Kozarac (Bosnia and Herzegovina). Trial Chamber II found Duško Tadić guilty of crimes against humanity and war crimes and, in a separate sentencing judgment, sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment. The Appeals Chamber found him guilty of additional crimes, and remitted the issue on sentencing to a Trial Chamber. Trial Chamber IIbis sentenced Tadić to 25 years of imprisonment. Tadić appealed against both the sentencing judgment of Trial Chamber II as well as that of Trial Chamber IIbis.

The Appeals Chamber found that Trial Chamber II erred when it ordered that the term of the sentence start after a final determination of an appeal as well as when it did not give credit for the time Tadić spent in custody in Germany.

The Appeals Chamber also upheld Tadić’s argument that crimes against humanity do not attract higher sentence than war crimes. The Appeals Chamber revised the sentence imposed by Trial Chamber IIbis to 20 years of imprisonment.

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Procedural history

The amended indictment was filed on 14 December 1995. The trial commenced on 7 May 1996, and closing arguments were heard between 25 and 26 November 1996.

The trial commenced on 7 May 1996, and Trial Chamber II rendered its Opinion and Judgment on 7 May 1997, finding Tadić guilty of violations of the laws or customs of war and crimes against humanity.

Thereafter, Trial Chamber II rendered its Sentencing Judgment on 14 July 1997, sentencing Tadić to 20 years of imprisonment.

The parties appealed against the Opinion and Judgment of 7 May 1997, and Tadić further filed an appeal against the Sentencing Judgment of 14 July 1997.

The Appeals Chamber rendered its judgment on the appeals against the Opinion and Judgment on 15 July 1999, founding that Tadić was guilty of additional counts. The Appeals Chamber remitted the issue of sentence concerning the additional counts to a Trial Chamber to be designated by the President of the Tribunal.

On 11 November 1999, Trial Chamber II bis rendered its sentencing judgment on the additional counts, imposing a sentence of 25 years of imprisonment.

On 25 November 1999, Tadić filed a notice of appeal against the Sentencing Judgment of 11 November 1999. Pursuant to his request, the Appeals Chamber ordered that the appeal be joined with the Appeal against the Sentencing Judgment of 14 July 1997.

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Related developments

On 31 October 2000, Duško Tadić was transferred to Germany to serve his sentence (see ICTY, 'Duško Tadić Transferred to Germany to Serve Prison Sentence', ICTY Press Release, 31 October 2000).

On 18 June 2001, Duško Tadić filed a request for a review of his complete case, in light of the decision on contempt of the Tribunal. The Appeals Chamber dismissed the request on 30 July 2002. On 17 July 2008, Duško Tadić was granted early release.

During the Tadić procedure, contempt hearings were initiated against Milan Vujin, lead counsel for the Defence of Duško Tadić. On 31 January 2000, the Appeals Chamber found Vujin in contempt of the Tribunal and fined him. A subsequent appeal was dismissed by the Appeals Chamber on 27 February 2001 (see ICTY, 'Milan Vujin, former Counsel for Dusko Tadic, Found in Contempt of the Tribunal, and Fined 15,000 Dutch Guilders', ICTY Press Release, 31 January 2000).

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Legally relevant facts

On 30 April 1992, the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) took over control in the town of Prijedor (Bosnia and Herzegovina). On 24 May 1992, the nearby town of Kozarac (Bosnia and Herzegovina) was attacked, resulting in the killing of some 800 civilians, and the removal of non-Serbs from the town. During the attack on Kozarac, non-Serb civilians were beaten, robbed and murdered by the Serb forces. After the takeover of Prijedor and the surrounding areas, the Serb forces detained non-Serb civilians in three major prison camps: the Omarska, Keraterm, and Trnopolje camps (all near Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina). Those who were detained were subjected to beatings, sexual assaults, torture, executions, and psychological abuse. Furthermore, the detainees were held in unhygienic conditions in overcrowded rooms (para. 53 et seq. of the Judgment rendered by Trial Chamber II on 7 May 1997).

Duško Tadić was the President of the Local Board of the Serb Democratic Party in Kozarac (Bosnia and Herzegovina). 

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Core legal questions

  • Did Trial Chamber II err in its sentencing judgment of 14 July 1997 with respect to the sentence imposed on Duško Tadić?
  • Did Trial Chaner IIbis err in its sentencing judgment handed down on 11 November 1999 with respect to the sentence imposed on Duško Tadić?

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Specific legal rules and provisions

  • Article 24, 25 of the ICTY Statute.
  • Rule 101 of the ICTY Rules of Procedure and Evidence.

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Court's holding and analysis

The Appeals Chamber allowed the second and third grounds of appeal against the Sentencing Judgment of 14 July 1997. With respect to the former, the Appeals Chamber found that “the Trial Chamber erred insofar as it ordered that the recommended minimum [sentence] term take as its starting point the final determination of any appeal” (para. 32). The Appeals Chamber also upheld Tadić’s third ground relating to Trial Chamber II’s failure to give credit for the time he spent in custody in Germany (para. 40).

The Appeals Chamber allowed some grounds of appeal against the Sentencing Judgment of 11 November 1999. The Appeals Chamber considered that Tadić’s “level in the command structure … was low” (para. 56), and, therefore, “revis[ed] the Sentencing Judgment of 11 November 1999 [and] impose[d] a sentence of 20 years” (para. 58).

Furthermore, Tadić’s argument that Trial Chamber IIbis erred when determining that crimes against humanity attract a higher sentence than war crimes, the Appeals Chamber held that “there is in law no distinction between the seriousness of a crime against humanity and that of a war crime … [since it found] no basis for such a distinction in the Statute or the Rules of the International Tribunal construed in accordance with customary international law” (para. 69).

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Further analysis

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Instruments cited

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Additional materials