A former commander of the 4th Military Police Battalion of the Croatian Defence Council, Paško Ljubičić is charged with persecutions, murder, violence to life and person, devastation not justified by military necessity, destruction or wilful damage to institutions dedicated to religion or education, plunder of public or private property and cruel treatment.
The alleged crimes took place in the Lašva Valley in central Bosnia and Herzegovina between January and July 1993.

The Referral Bench’s decision of 12 April 2006 ordered that the case be referred to Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance with Rule 11 bis of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence. In its decision, the Referral Bench ruled that the laws and procedures applicable to proceedings against the Accused in Bosnia and Herzegovina provided an adequate basis to ensure compliance with the requirement for a fair trial. The Referral Bench was also satisfied that the death penalty would not be imposed if the Accused would be convicted of the alleged crimes, a requirement pursuant to Rule 11 bis (B) if an Accused is to be referred to a domestic jurisdiction for trial.

The decision was appealed on 9 May 2006 by the defense. In its ruling, the Appeals Chamber dismissed all of Ljubičić’s grounds of appeal and affirmed the decision to refer the case to the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The International Criminal Tribunal considers its partnership with the judiciaries in the former Yugoslavia as a key component of its Completion Strategy, as endorsed by the UN Security Council. While the most senior leaders are tried before the Tribunal in The Hague, intermediate and lower rank accused can be referred to competent national jurisdictions. The ICTY has to date transferred six accused to Bosnia and Herzegovina for trial and referred one case involving two accused to Croatia.

Press release