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(Photo provided courtesy of the ICTY)

(Photo provided courtesy of the ICTY)

The Prosecutor v. Dragoljub Kunarac, Radomir Kovač and Zoran Vuković

Court International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Appeals Chamber, The Netherlands
Case number IT-96-23 & IT-96-23/1-A
Decision title Judgement
Decision date 12 June 2002
Parties
  • The Prosecutor
  • Dragoljub Kunarac
  • Radomir Kovač
  • Zoran Vuković
Categories Crimes against humanity, Slavery, Torture, War crimes
Keywords Appeal, crimes against humanity, enslavement, Foca, outrages upon personal dignity, rape, torture, violations of the laws or customs of war
Links
Other countries involved
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Summary

Dragoljub Kunarac, Radomir Kovač, and Zoran Vuković were brought before the ICTY for their roles in the commission of crimes against the Bosnian Muslim civilians between April 1992 and February 1993. During this time, an armed conflict existed between the Bosnian Serbs and the Bosnian Muslims, and the Bosnian Serb Army and paramilitary groups detained Bosnian Muslim women and subjected them to repeated rapes, torture and other mistreatments.

The Trial Chamber found that Dragoljub Kunarac, Radomir Kovač, and Zoran Vuković were guilty of crimes against humanity and violations of laws or customs of war, sentencing them to 28, 20, and 12 years of imprisonment, respectively.

The three Appellants raised several grounds of appeal, arguing that the Trial Chamber erred in several of its factual and legal findings. Among others, the Appellants argued that the Trial Chamber erroneously assessed the contextual elements of crimes against humanity and war crimes as well as the separate definitions of the charged offences of enslavement, rape, torture, and outrages upon personal dignity.

The Appeals Chamber rejected all grounds of appeal adduced by the Appellants. Subsequently, it affirmed the sentences imposed by the Trial Chamber.

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Procedural history

The amended indictment against Vuković was filed on 5 October 1999; another, new amended indictment against Kunarac and Kovač was filed on 8 November 1999. The trial commenced on 20 March 2000, and the Trial Chamber rendered its judgment on 22 February 2001.

On 6 March 2001, Kovač and Vuković filed a notice of appeal against the trial judgment and sentence. Kunarac filed his notice of appeal on 7 March 2001.

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Related developments

On 28 November 2002, Kovač and Vuković were transferred to Norway to serve their sentences (see ICTY, 'Radomir Kovac and Zoran Vukovic Transferred to Norway to Serve Prison Sentences', ICTY Press Release, 28 November 2002).

On 12 December 2002, Kunarac was transferred to Germany to serve his sentence (see ICTY, 'Dragoljub Kunarac Transferred to Germany to Serve Prison Sentence', ICTY Press Release, 12 December 2002).

On 11 March 2008, Vuković was granted early release. 

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Legally relevant facts

The events giving rise to the case occurred in the area of Foča, Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and February 1993. During this period, an armed conflict existed between Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Muslims. The Bosnian Serb Army and paramilitary groups targeted the non-Serb civilian population aiming the ‘cleansing’ of the Foča area of non-Serbs. The conflict resulted in non-Serbs, particularly Bosnian Muslim women, being detained in facilities with unhygienic conditions and subjected to mistreatments, including repeated rapes (paras. 2-3).

Kunarac was the leader of a reconnaissance unit forming part of the Foča Tactical Group, having access to the highest military command. The Trial Chamber found him guilty of violations of the laws or customs of war (torture and rape) and crimes against humanity (torture, rape and enslavement) (para. 5).

Kovač and Vuković were members of the same Bosnian Serb military unit. Kovač was found guilty of rape and outrages upon personal dignity (as violations of the laws or customs of war) as well as rape and enslavement (as crimes against humanity) (para. 11 et seq.).

Vuković was found guilty of torture and rape (both as violations of the laws or customs of war and crimes against humanity (para. 19 et seq.).

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Core legal questions

  • Did the Trial Chamber err in its legal and/or factual findings with respect to the convictions and sentences of Dragoljub Kunarac, Radomir Kovač, and Zoran Vuković?
  • Can the Appeals Chamber uphold any of the grounds adduced by the Appellants?

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Specific legal rules and provisions

  • Article 25 of the ICTY Statute.
  • Rule 117 of the ICTY Rules of Procedure and Evidence. 

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Court's holding and analysis

The Appellants raised several grounds of appeal relating to Article 3 (paras. 49 et seq.) and Article 5 (para. 71 et seq.) of the ICTY Statute. Furthermore, the Appellants argued that the Trial Chamber erred with respect to the definitions adopted for the offences (paras. 106 et seq.). The Appellants also argued that the Trial Chamber erred in its factual findings (paras. 199 et seq.) as well as in its assessment of the sentences imposed. (paras. 336 et seq.)

The Appeals Chamber rejected all grounds of appeal raised by the Appellants. Accordingly, Dragoljub Kunarac’s prison sentence of 28 years, Radomir Kovač’s 20 years, and Zoran Vuković’s 12 years were affirmed (p. 125-127).

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Further analysis

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Instruments cited

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Additional materials