In May 2011, Mladic was arrested on suspicion of war crimes and extradited to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Mladic’s lawyer claims that the suspect is too ill to appear before the tribunal. Is there a chance that extradition will not take place due to illness?
The international criminal courts:
- The International Criminal Court has been operating in The Hague since 2002. The International Criminal Court is investigating allegations of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. If the complaints appear to be justified, an arrest warrant will be issued against individuals. Once in The Hague, legal proceedings against the accused start.
- In 1993, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was established by the United Nations. This tribunal investigates the genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity that took place in the territory of the former Yugoslavia before 1991.
Too sick to stand trial
The lawyer of Ratko Mladic (arrested in May 2011) is not the only one who has stated that his client is too ill to stand trial. What is the procedure regarding this request?
Art.8 Framework Decision (of the EC Council 13 June 2002) on the European arrest warrant states that:
- ‘Decisions on the execution of the European arrest warrant should only be taken after adequate checks.
- This means that a judicial authority of the Member State where the requested person has been arrested must decide whether or not to surrender him or her.’
The decision on extradition lies with the country in which the requested person has been arrested. In the event of a request from the lawyer for non-extradition due to illness, the law in the country in which the requested person has been arrested must decide, after medical examination, whether or not extradition will take place. become. All this applies provided the arrest took place in a member state of the European Union.
Article 20(2) of the Statute for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia does not appear to pose any problems with arrest and extradition. The Statute states laconically: ‘a person against whom an indictment has been formed and confirmed shall be detained following an arrest warrant. taken… and transferred to the International Tribunal…
In the case of Mladic, the lawyer could argue that no extradition should take place because Serbia is not a member of the European Union. Serbia is most likely unwilling to comply with this request, precisely because Mladic’s arrest and extradition to the Yugoslavia Tribunal was a condition for Serbia to join the European Union. To date, Serbia has always extradited suspects arrested in its country to the Tribunal. The only ‘protection’ that Serbia has shown to suspects is by not looking too diligently for them.
Illness is not a reason at the Tribunal
Furthermore, Article 20(2) of the Statute implies that, as far as the Tribunal is concerned, there are no reasons not to extradite the suspect to the Tribunal, simply because no (exceptional) reason is stated. Illness is therefore not an item for discussion as far as the Tribunal is concerned for non-extradition.
Humanitarian reasons for illness?
Illness may be a reason for the court in the country of arrest if this is provided for in the extradition conditions. In that case, the assessment follows: the severity of the detainee’s crimes against humanitarian reasons in the event of the detainee’s serious illness.
Unfortunately for the detainee, in most cases it becomes somewhat difficult, and generally politically and socially frowned upon , to think humanitarianly in the face of someone who has shown a complete absence of humanity in the commission of his crimes.
Conclusion
For the Tribunal, illness is no reason not to prosecute. Serious illness could at most delay legal progress.
The persistent country’s decision not to extradite someone due to illness may be subject to heavy social and political criticism. The possibility of non-extradition due to illness is therefore small, but nevertheless exists.
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- The operation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
- Being indicted at the International Criminal Court
- Conviction and execution of (ex) heads of state
- The United States and war crimes
- The International Criminal Court: the crimes