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Canadian lawyers reject genocide claims by former Yugoslavia at world court

Thu Apr 22,11:37 AM ET

ROBERTA COWAN

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CP) - Lawyers for Canada on Thursday rejected charges of violating the international convention against genocide levelled against it and other NATO (news - web sites) member states by the former Yugoslavia for bombing during the 1999 Kosovo crisis. The lawyers also questioned whether the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over claims by Serbia and Montenegro, Yugoslavia's successor state, that Canada and seven other NATO member states violated international obligations not to use force against another state.

"We react with indignation to the charge of genocide, the gravest of all international crimes," Canadian lawyer Alan Willis told the court in public hearings earlier this week, adding that "the charges are baseless" and "we reject them categorically."

The Canadian legal team wrapped up their arguments Thursday at the Peace Palace in the Hague, which houses the International Court of Justice, or World Court, the UN's highest legal body to resolve disputes between countries.

The original complaint was filed to the court by the former Yugoslavia just a month after NATO launched air strikes against the country in March 1999.

Pleading on Monday and again on Thursday this week, the Canadian legal team refuted the claims and called for them to be dismissed.

"It's always hard to predict what will happen, but we've stated our case," Colleen Swords, from the eight-member Canadian legal team, said after the final submissions on Thursday.

"The only question to be decided here is jurisdiction. This is a preliminary hearing, so issues are not being judged on their merit, only on whether this court has jurisdiction," Swords said.

In the original submission to the UN tribunal, Serbia and Montenegro sought unspecified damages from 10 members of the NATO military alliance involved in the air strike. Initial charges against Spain and the United States were dropped.

The NATO-led bombings, which were not authorized by the UN, were intended to end a repressive campaign by Serbian forces under then-Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites) against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, but Belgrade said the bombings targeted Serb civilians.

Milosevic is being tried in another court in the Netherlands, the UN war-crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, for alleged war crimes in Kosovo, Croatia and Bosnia.

The NATO states - Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Britain - each made oral submissions to the court throughout the week. All contest the court's jurisdiction.

"Serbia and Montenegro were not a party of the court by way of UN membership and not bound by the genocide convention when this case was filed," Swords told the court. Her statements were echoed by each of the lawyers for the NATO member states.

The original claim submitted by the former Yugoslavia cited evidence of the human and material losses caused by the sustained bombardment with sophisticated ordinance, including "widespread pattern of civilian deaths" and "extensive damage of schools, hospitals, radio and television stations, cultural and health institutions and . . . places of worship."

Lawyers for Serbia and Montenegro accuse the NATO members of deliberately targeting civilians and violating international obligations banning the use of force against another state.

The NATO countries are accused of deliberately inflicting "on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in a whole or in a part."

"This is a contentious case. At this court, unlike in Canadian courts, the applicant is required to indicate on what basis of jurisdiction it relies. Serbia and Montenegro have not done so and in fact it has done the opposite, asserting no jurisdiction," Swords said.

In 1999, the 15-member world court rejected Serbia and Montenegro's request by a vote of 14-1 that it order NATO to end the bombing in Kosovo.

Each NATO member state requested that the court dismiss the case.

A panel of 15 international judges is considering the filing. A ruling is not expected for several months.