ICJ genocide judgment in the dispute between Croatia and Serbia: Legal analysis and its importance for mutual relations

Abstract

The Judgment of the International Court of Justice in the case of mutual claims for the breach of the Genocide Convention between Croatia and Serbia represents the final outcome of 16 years of a dispute which burdened their bilateral relations on everyday basis. Bearing in mind that the International Court of Justice, as the international judicial authority with highest legitimacy in contemporary international order, found both claims to be unfounded, the judgment can represent an impulse for governments of both countries to settle the problematic legacy of years of conflict and mutual allegations. However, some passages from the judgment might be used also as means of diplomatic pressure by both governments, since the International Court of Justice blamed the Croatian government for the grave crimes short of genocide commited during the Operation Storm, but also adopted the interpretation of the ICTY?s joint criminal enterprise jurisprudence which foreshadows further prosecutions for political personalities allegedly connected with the conception of Greater Serbia.