The Prosecutor v. Radovan Karadžić

Court	International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, The Netherlands
Case number	IT-95-5/18-T
Decision title	The Prosecutor v. Radovan Karadžić, Public Redacted Version of Judgement Issued on 24 March 2016
Decision date	24 March 2016
Parties	Office of the Prosecutor: Mr. Alan Tieger; Ms. Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff. The Accused: Mr. Radovan Karadžić. Defence Counsel: Mr. Peter Robinson; Ms. Kate Gibson.
Other names	Karadžić Case.
Categories	Crimes against humanity, Genocide, Torture, War crimes
Keywords	Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, war crimes, ICTY, Kosovo, Srebrenica
Links	Trial Judgement Volume I Trial Judgement Volume II Trial Judgement Volume III Trial Judgement Volume IV

Summary

The Prosecutor v. Radovan Karadžić case before the ICTY concerned events which occurred from October 1991 to November 1995 in the former Republic of Yugoslavia. These conflicts have been estimated to be the cause of a death toll of approximately 100,000people, leading to over 2,000,000 people being displaced.The victims in this case were the ethnic groups of Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats residing in the targeted municipalities. The crimes in question (such as murder) were committed by Bosnian Serb Forces and Bosnian Serb Political and Governmental Organs, as per orders issued by government leaders, one of whom was Mr.Karadžić.

Mr. Karadžić was the President of the Republika Srpska and Supreme Commander of the RS armed forces during the conflicts. In his leadership position, Mr. Karadžić, together with other leaders, aimed to create an ethnically pure Bosnian Serb State by territorially dividing Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mr. Karadžić’s leadership position leveraged his power in ordering the RS armed forces and facilitating the commission of crimes against humanity, genocide, and violations of rules and customs of war. Therefore, Mr. Karadžić was indicted by the ICTY of 11 counts of crimes, including crimes against humanity, violations of rules and customs of war, and genocide. On 24 March 2016, Mr. Karadžić was found guilty of most of the counts and acquitted of one genocide count. As a result, Mr. Karadžić was sentenced to 40 years of imprisonment.

Procedural history

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) issued initial indictment against Mr. Karadžić and Mr. Mladić: 25 July 1995.

Further initialindictment issued against Mr. Karadžić and Mr. Mladić: 16 November 1995.

An ICTY Trial Chamber issued international arrest warrants against Mr. Karadžić and Mr. Mladić: 12 July 1996.

The ICTY confirmed the arrest of Mr. Karadžić in Belgrade, Serbia, 21 July 2008.

Mr. Karadžić was transferred to the ICTY’s custody: 30 July 2008.

Mr. Karadžić had his first initial appearance before the ICTY: 31 July 2008.

Pursuant to the Trial Chamber’s Decision of 26 February 2009, the Prosecutionfiled the Third Amended Indictment, which became the operative indictment: 27 February 2009.

ICTY Trial Chamber III dismissed Mr. Karadžić’s motion for acquittal on ten counts of the indictment but granted the removal of one count of genocide (count one): 28 June 2012.

The ICTY Appeals Chamber reversed Trial Chamber III’s decision, thereby reinstating count one of the indictments following the Prosecution’s appeal: 11 July 2013.

ICTY Trial Chamber III issued its Trial Judgement in the case of Mr. Karadžić: 24 March 2016.

Further detailed information can be found here.

Related developments

The AppealsChamber judgment in the case of Mr. Karadžić can be accessed here.

Mr. Karadžić was transferred to a prison in the United Kingdom to serve the rest of his sentence in 2021,despite Mr. Karadžić previously filing an objection to the transfer. He had alleged that he would be subject to fatal prisoner attacks if the transfer took place.

Legal representative Mladen Kesar confirmed in February 2025 that Mr. Karadžić has been transferred to the medical unit of the prison where he is serving his sentence.

Legally relevant facts

The Prosecutor v. Radovan Karadžićcase concerns numerous crimes which occurred between October 1991 and November 1995 in various regions of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including Sarajevo, Srebrenica, and 20 municipalities of the Autonomous Region of Karjina. Mr. Karadžić was a founding member of the Serbian Democratic Party(SDS), and the President of the National Security Council of Republika Srpska (RS). In December 1992, Mr.Karadžićwas elected asthe President of the Republika Srpskaand Supreme Commander of the RS armed forces (paras. 1-3,Trial Judgement Volume I).

Core legal questions

Can sympathy shown towards victims, as opposed to remorse, be considered a mitigating circumstance in international crimes cases?

How is the right to a fair trial affected if the defendant refuses to attend the trial?

Can previously concluded immunity deals diminish international criminal responsibility, or be considered as a mitigating circumstance during sentencing?

In the event that the defendant is provided a selection of defence counsel from which they refuse to choose, and the choice is made for them, can they appeal the choice made by the Registry and on what grounds?
Does the intention to redistribute populations by means of targeted killings differ from the intention of physical destruction of a population in the scope of identifying genocide?

Specific legal rules and provisions

Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia:

Article 23;

Article 24;

Article 27.

ICTY Rules of Procedure and Evidence:

Rule 98 ter;

Rule 101;

Rule 102;

Rule 103.

Court's holding and analysis

In the indictment,Mr. Karadžić was charged with genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of the laws or customs of war. Specifically, Mr. Karadžić was charged with genocide (in relation to the Municipalities) (Count 1); genocide (in relation to Srebrenica) (Count 2); persecution as a crime against humanity (in relation to the Municipalities and Srebrenica) (Count 3); extermination as a crime against humanity (in relation to the Municipalities and Srebrenica) (Count 4); murder as a crime against humanity (in relation to the Municipalities, Sarajevo, and Srebrenica) (Count 5); murder as a violation of the laws or customs of war (in relation the Municipalities, Sarajevo, and Srebrenica) (Count 6); deportation as a crime against humanity (in relation to the Municipalities) (Count 7); inhumane acts (forcible transfer) as a crime against humanity (in relation to the Municipalities and Srebrenica) (Count 8); acts of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population as a violation of the laws or customs of war (in relation to Sarajevo) (Count 9); unlawful attacks on civilians as a violation of the laws or customs of war (in relation to Sarajevo) (Count 10); and the taking of hostages as a violation of the laws or customs of war (Count 11) (para. 5, Trial Judgement Volume I).

Mr. Karadžić was indicted by the ICTY for his participation in four Joint Criminal Enterprises (a mode of group criminal liability under the mechanism of the ICTY) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Specifically, Mr. Karadžić was indicted for participating in criminal activity with the overarching aims of permanently removing Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats from the territories claimed by Bosnian Serbs. According to the prosecution, Mr. Karadžić also ordered the carrying out of campaigns of sniping and shelling against the civilian population of Sarajevo and took part in elimination of the Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica by ordering their killing. In addition to this, the prosecution alleged that Mr. Karadžić was responsible for taking hostage of over 200 UN peacekeepers and military observers with the aim to ensure that NATO troops abstained from conducting air strikes against Bosnian Serb military targets (paras. 3-5, Trial Judgement Volume I).

The Trial Chamber found Mr. Karadžić guilty of Counts 2-11 and acquitted Mr. Karadžić of the charge of genocide in relation to the Municipalities. For these crimes, Mr. Karadžić was found guilty under the modes of individual responsibility for one count of genocide, five counts of crimes against humanity, and command responsibility for violations of the laws or customs of war committed by Serb forces during the armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Regarding Count 1, concerning the alleged genocide committed against the Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats in some municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Chamber found that they could not reasonably infer that genocide did occur in these municipalities. The Chamber’s reasoning referred to the nature, scale, and context of the culpable acts, from which it could not reasonably infer that these acts were committed with genocidal intent.

The prosecution submitted Mr. Karadžić’s abuse of authority as an aggravating circumstance (para. 6051, Trial Judgement Volume I). The Trail Chamber dismissed considering this as an aggravating circumstance as it has already been discussed in the findings of the case.The defence submitted several mitigating circumstances,including the Holbrooke agreement concluded in July 1996, according to which Mr. Karadžić would not be prosecuted if he resigned from public office (paras. 6054-6056, Trial Judgement Volume I);the alleged disclosure violations by the Prosecution (para. 6063, Trial Judgement Volume I); Mr. Karadžić’s purported lack of training and preparation for war; and his expression of regret or sympathy to the victims of the crimes charged in the Indictment (para. 6060, Trial Judgement Volume I).

The Trial Chamber considered the Holbrooke agreement and Mr. Karadžić’s resignation from the office as mitigating circumstances while determining the final sentence (para. 6057, Trial Judgement Volume I). The Chamber also considered sympathy for the victims (para. 6060, Trial Judgement Volume I), and the age of Mr. Karadžić as factors determining the final sentence (para. 6061, Trial Judgement Volume I). The rest of the submitted mitigating factors were dismissed.

Mr. Karadžić was found to be individually criminally responsible for the commission of crimes under Counts 2-11. The Chamber sentenced Mr. Karadžić to 40 years of imprisonment (paras. 6071-6073, Trial Judgement Volume I).

Further analysis

A significant part of discussion on the Karadžić case following the judgement has been regarding the imprisonment conditions of Mr. Karadžić following his transfer to the UK. 120 Serb public figures reportedly signed an open letter to the UN secretary-general at the time, Antonio Guterres, alleging that Mr. Karadžić has been subjected to poor conditions, including psychological mistreatment, during his time in prison, none of which could be individually confirmed. These allegations have been heavily criticised by the Association of Genocide Victims and Witnesses of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa Enclaves, viewing them as a means to reduce Mr. Karadžić’s sentence.

Several NGOs, such as Amnesty International, continue to advocate for victims of enforced disappearances during the Srebrenica genocide, which are yet to be investigated.