Roundtable on Compensation Claims as part of the Judgment in War Crimes cases

The testimony by victims of war crimes before courts in Serbia is often crucial evidence in the trials. At the same time, they are regularly told to pursue their claims for compensation in separate civil litigation, which prolongs their pursuit for justice and re-victimizes them. The participants in the expert discussion titled “Deciding on Compensation Claims as part of Judgment in War Crimes Cases” examined ways on how prosecutorial and court practice could be improved, so that compensation claims filed by victims in criminal proceedings get accepted in convicting judgments.

The discussion, in the form of a roundtable, was attended by representatives of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office, the War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office, as well as judges and judicial assistants from Belgrade High Court and Court of Appeal. It was an opportunity to recall the Supreme Court Guidelines for improving court practice in compensation proceedings for victims of serious crime in criminal proceedings, as well as to get an insight into the practice of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which was presented by a judge and a prosecutor from BiH.

The round table was held in Hotel Moskva in Belgrade on 20 March 2024 and was jointly supported by the “EU Support to Confidence Building in the Western Balkans” project, implemented by UNDP, and by the multi-donor “Facility Supporting Strengthening Rule of Law in the Republic of Serbia” co-financed by the EU, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and implemented by the OSCE Mission to Serbia.