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The Supreme Court of the Netherlands affirmed the strong approach to dual attribution taken by the Court of Appeal and dismissed the appeal. It found that it is possible for both the Netherlands and the UN to have effective control over the same wrongful conduct and that attributing this conduct to the Netherlands did not in any way determine whether the UN also exercised effective control over the Dutchbat troops (pp. 22-23, para. 3.11.2).

This case is important, as it marks the first time an individual government has been held to account for the conduct of its peacekeeping troops operating under a UN mandate. Liesbeth Zegveld, the Dutch lawyer who represented the victims, stated that “a U.N. flag doesn’t give...immunity as a state or as an individual soldier.” As a result of this judgment, two Bosnian families are now expected to receive damages from the Dutch state, and other cases may follow.

Mehura Selimović was born on 4 April 1962, and is a former military, police affairs and counter-intelligence officer of the 5th Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RBiH). Adil Ružnić was born on 2 August 1967, and is a former Assistant Commander for Security Affairs of the 5th Corps of the Army of RBiH. Emir Mustafić is a former member of the 5th Corps of the Army of RBiH. While holding these positions, they assisted soldiers detaining civilians and members of enemy forces that were no longer fighting in the Adil Bešić military barracks in Bihać, in a camp in the plastic factory in Petrovac, in the Luke prison in Bihać, and in other locations. In these locations, the detainees were held in unhealthy conditions, forced to perform hard work, and subjected to harsh interrogations and physical mistreatment. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina charged Selimović, Ružnić and Mustafić with war crimes against civilians and war crimes against prisoners of war because of their involvement in the crimes.