Despite of systematical progress and public acceptance of basic values of  legal system, in practice in Croatia still prevails partial readiness of political elites and legal institutions for taking the responsibility for more efficient and quality processing of all war crimes. Trials are still being processed in the context of social “tolerance” toward “its own” crimes.

The Republic of Croatia is lacking of well thought-out and constructive process of facing with the crimes committed in war happenings. Such process is however, necessary in order to, in one hand, eliminate its anti-civilization consequences, and in the other hand, because of the need for creation of modern society that will want to absorb, intellectually and emotionally, post-modern civilization’s heritage and actively position itself toward the challenges of global processes that are imposing themselves onto the countries emerged from  the fall of Yugoslavia.

Prosecuting war crimes in Croatia

At the round table held in Zagreb last late month, on topic Prosecutions of war crimes in Croatia, Katarina Kruhonja and Zoran Pusic have made analysis and recommendations of the monitoring team in year 2008.

Branko Hrvatin, president of the Supreme court of Republic of Croatia, Antun Kvakan, representative of the main state’s attorney, Ivan Simonovic, minister of justice and Branko Turic, mayor of the Department for war crimes within the Ministry of internal affairs, spoke about the plans and priorities of the legal system and police in Croatia.

President of Republic of Croatia, Stjepan Mesic and Vincent Degert, chief of Delegation of the European Commission in Republic Croatia, also addressed to the participants of the round table.

The participants of the round table discussed about war crimes trails that should be, except general and special prevention, also the first step to justice after war and reconstruction of trust. These trials have to be also reversible process to the crime itself, they have to contribute to re-affirmation of values violated by crimes, contribute to ending the atmosphere that was adequate for realization of those crimes and investigate political context in which such crimes happened.

For making the positive atmosphere for prosecutions of war crimes, responsible bodies in the Republic of Croatia are courts, executive and legislative body. The war crimes prosecution atmosphere depends on their transformation and democratization. However, important role also have media and civil society.

Monitoring war crime trials

Human rights organizations in Republic of Croatia: Documenta, Civic Committee for Human Rights (GOLJP) and Center for Peace, Non-Violence and Human Rights Osijek, published also a report for year 2008, called Monitoring of war crimes trials. The aim of the report is to  encourage state institutions to see the opportunities in reported problems, and to see in challenges  the inspiration for continuation of the reforms, since they represent the struggle against current mentality, interest and inertness.

By their constant activities in this field and through this report, above mentioned organizations wish to encourage legal and executive bodies in the Republic of Croatia, but also Croatian public, to analyze more deeply what should be done with the consequences of badly prosecuted crimes in the past, how to create the environment that is encouraging for victims-witnesses, and witnesses in general, and how to improve the role of the victim in prosecution processes,

These organizations systematically monitor war crimes trials and their influence on the process of facing with the past, since year 2004.

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