Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) is of the opinion that the order issued by the Defence Minister on the service procedure for members of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Army of the Republic of Serbia with respect to persons indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is in disagreement with provisions of the Criminal Code and the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, both of which call for investigation, criminal prosecution, and punishment of perpetrators of criminal acts.
According to this order, published in the Military Gazette on December 11, 2006, members of MoD and Army of the Republic of Serbia are released from obligation to report on ICTY fugitives even if they are found in a military building they are personally guarding.
HLC calls upon the Defence Minister to publicly explain his reasoning for issuing an order which motivates members of MoD and the Army to assist and harbour those indicted by ICTY instead of reporting their presence to the authorities.
