Seven Questions: Capturing Balkan Justice

FOREIGN POLICY: What kind of impact has the videotape had on public opinion in Serbia?

David Scheffer: Theres no question it has had a significant impact, because it has brought the evidence before the Serbian public in a way that is undeniable. The evidence on Srebrenica has been available to the Serbian public for years, from testimony in trials at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), but many have been in a state of denial. [If] a picture is worth a thousand words, this film demonstrates that a video is worth a thousand pictures.

FP: Ratko Mladic, the Serbian army commander who oversaw the Srebrenica massacre in 1995, is said to be negotiating with the Serbian government to surrender to The Hague to face charges. Is that tied to the airing of the videotape and the shock it has caused?

DS: I doubt it. It may be that General Mladic finally understands that his ability to evade capture is shrinking. He must recognize that he will never face the death penalty in front of the ICTY and that he will face a multiyear trial. That may be a better alternative for him than a life on the run. It may be that in these negotiations, he is trying to leave Serbia with some sense of dignity, rather than to be ignominiously captured in circumstances that would be embarrassing to him.

FP: What kind of deal might Mladic be looking to strike?

DS: He may be trying to negotiate a detention or bail arrangement so that he wouldnt necessarily have to be incarcerated during the pretrial and trial. However, the tribunal has not been sympathetic to those kinds of requests, particularly from highprofile defendants. Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, for example, wasnt given that privilege. Another negotiating point may be that he wishes to ensure the wellbeing of his extended family.

FP: The ICTYs chief prosecutor has pressed for General Mladic and former Serb leader Radovan Karadzic to be delivered to The Hague to face prosecution by July 11, the 10th anniversary of the massacre. The idea is to pay tribute to the victims. Is there any other reason to press prosecutions?

DS: Yes. The failure to bring these two individuals to The Hague is retarding the political and economic development of the region. This issue goes far beyond international justice. The fact that these two individuals are still at large is a tremendous drag on this regions ability to develop and join the European Union and the international community as full partners.

FP: Is there any chance the ICTY could be terminated without prosecuting these individuals?

DS: I cannot see the members of the United Nations demonstrating that kind of weakness in the face of evil. They have to bring these two individuals to justice and to provide a fair and open trial for them. Anything less would be a disastrous outcome for the rule of law at the beginning of the 21st century. This issue is at the heart of U.N. member states credibility, and it would be a disgrace to the victims of the Balkan conflicts for the tribunal to shut down before these individuals face justice.

FP: Serbia has delivered more than a dozen indictees to the ICTY since January. What is the status of these prosecutions?

DS: There are about six trials ongoing in any given week. That is an extremely busy docket given the tribunals small staff and the magnitude and character of the crimes. The tribunal is working on all cylinders. The docket of the court is so busy that it will take a number of yearsthree or four at leastto work through the existing cases. Unless Mladic and Karadzic come onboard soon, these megatrials will add years to the tribunals life.

FP: What lessons does the ICTY offer future tribunals?

DS: Weve learned that international justice is expensive. The costs of largescale domestic criminal investigations never see the light of day with the public. We [are rarely told] how expensive it was to investigate the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995, but it was hundreds of millions of dollars. The victim count there was far less than most of the major atrocities that occurred in the Balkans. The cost of operating a tribunal has forced the international community and the United Nations to think creatively about how to set up courts that are tailored for the unique circumstances of conflicts and the atrocities that they have to adjudicate.

The other contribution is the number of individuals who have now been trained in the application of international justicewhether as judges, prosecutors, defense counsel, management staff, or investigators. These individuals are now fanned out across the globe and bringing that experience to bear at other tribunals.

David Scheffer is a former U.S. ambassadoratlarge for war crimes issues (19972001) and will be a visiting professor of international law at Northwestern University Law School this fall.