Institute for International Relations

Ivan Simonovic (ed.), 1999, IMO, Zagreb

VI. Advancement and Protection of International Law

The activity of Croatian delegates in respect of the issue of the development and the mechanisms of the protection of international law was marked by national priorities and a vision of global priorities. The ICTY represents a general test case to see whether the international community is prepared for the establishment of a permanent international criminal court of wider jurisdiction. Has the test case been a successful one? Croatian delegates drew attention to the areas of the work of the ICTY which had not proved to be satisfactory. These matters can be summarised to challenging the unrepresentativeness of the indictments presented in comparison to the breadth and level of involvedness of the different groups in the conflict. There is also the general objection to the insufficient level of cooperation of the FRY and Republika Srpska, and the failure of the Security Council to enforce their compliance pursuant to international law. However, irrespective of its objections, Croatia remains committed to cooperation with ICTY.

Croatia has also given its full support for the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and holds that the Court’s establishment is a legal, political and moral victory on the eve of the 21st century. The ease with which obligations were drafted in the Statute of the ICTY, which related only to the states of the former Yugoslavia, may be unfavourably compared to the reluctance to accept that similar rules should be applicable to those same Security Council members pursuant to the ICC Statute. This harsh reality is discouraging and gives cause for caution. The largest and most populous world powers are still a long way from accepting the jurisdiction of the ICC. Even after its commencement, the success of the ICC shall require the significant pressure of civil society, and particularly of non-governmental organisations.

Issues of state succession, following the dissolution of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), are still to be settled. In letters to the Security Council, together with three of the other four successor states, Croatia advocated respect for international law and the opinions of the Badinter Commission of the EU/UN Conference on the former SFRY regarding equal rights to succession by all states that had emerged following the dissolution on the former Yugoslav federation. The question of citizenship was also an important practical issue in the context of the disintegration of and succession to the former Yugoslavia.

Other areas of interest to Croatia on international legal matters in the General Assembly were to an extent linked to national interests. The law of the sea is always of interest to Croatia give its location and Mediterranean orientation. The battle against terrorism is a global imperative, not only from the viewpoint of principle but also in the context of practical international cooperation. The ills that have affected Croatia during the aggression waged against her have served to srengthen the commitment to the prevention of terrorism of any kind.