The president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has criticized a scheduled Serbian-organized UN debate on the tribunal, saying it "poses questions in terms of fundamental respect for the rule of law."
Judge Theodor Meron said, "It is not a [debate] in which my participation would make any significant contribution to the norms which I hold dear."
Vuk Jeremic, the Serbian president of the UN General Assembly, scheduled the April 10 debate about the performance of the tribunal after two controversial ICTY acquittals.
The tribunal in November 2012 freed on appeal Croatian Generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac, who had been sentenced to jail for their roles in a 1995 offensive to drive Serbian rebels out of the Krajina region.
Meron, who was speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said, "Acquittals, just as convictions, show the health of the system."
Judge Theodor Meron said, "It is not a [debate] in which my participation would make any significant contribution to the norms which I hold dear."
Vuk Jeremic, the Serbian president of the UN General Assembly, scheduled the April 10 debate about the performance of the tribunal after two controversial ICTY acquittals.
The tribunal in November 2012 freed on appeal Croatian Generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac, who had been sentenced to jail for their roles in a 1995 offensive to drive Serbian rebels out of the Krajina region.
Meron, who was speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said, "Acquittals, just as convictions, show the health of the system."
