Serbia Wraps Up Response to Croat Genocide Charge

Serbia's 1,000-page answer, denying Croatia's accusation of genocide and putting forward Serbia’s own counter-claim for genocide, will be delivered to International Court of Justice, ICJ, by November 4, when the deadline for Serbia's answers expires.

“The legal team has been working on a rejoinder for some time, and during the summer we finished our reply to everything that the Croatian side presented in order to deny the charges,” Savo Strbac, a member of Serbia's legal team, said.

While Serbia says the best solution to mutual accusations of genocide is for both sides to withdraw their claims, Croatia's Prime Minister, Jadranka Kosor, recently said that her government will not drop its lawsuit against Serbia.

"Such a decision can only be passed by the government and the Croatian cabinet will not do this," Kosor said on September 24.

Serbia's State Secretary, Slobodan Homen, said that all open issues with neighbouring countries should be resolved through dialogue.

“We believe the mutual withdrawal of genocide claims is the best road to take but our next steps will depend on Croatia's moves,” Homen told the Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti.  

Savo Strbac says that only an ICJ ruling can reconcile the two conflicting arguments.

“A genocide accusation is a big accusation. You cannot say ‘You’ve committed genocide against us’ and then withdraw what you said," he said.

“This shouldn’t be a brawl between political elites but an opportunity to find the truth," he added.

"After both sides deliver their arguments, a neutral court like the ICJ should bring its decision that all have to respect. Such a ruling will help reconciliation,” Strbac continued.

Croatia filed genocide charges against Serbia at the ICJ in 1999, demanding also that Belgrade punish all perpetrators of war crimes, return looted cultural property to Croatia and pay for war damages.

Answering Croatia’s charges, Serbia submitted a counter-claim on January 4 2010, maintaining that Croatia was guilty of genocide against Serbs during and after the war of the 1990s.

To ensure equality and give both sides an opportunity to answer accusations, the Court called on Croatia to present its arguments for second time and submit its response to Serbia’s counter-claims by December 2010.  

After Serbia’s submits its claim on November 4, the Court is expected to open oral proceedings.  

The ICJ is a UN body whose role is to settle legal disputes between states that are submitted to the court and to give opinions on legal questions in accordance with international law.