The Mladic affair strikes a blow to international justice

In an editorial, Pascal Baeriswyl writes about the Mladic affair and the EU's suspension of talks on closer ties with Serbia and Montenegro. He finds that "time is henceforth working against the criminal tribunal charged with bringing to justice the main war criminals in the former Yugoslavia. The tribunal's mandate has a limited lifespan and Mladic's 'supporters' are playing for time, attempting to push back as far as possible his potential appearance. It must be said as well that in the wake of Milosevic's death, the failure to bring to justice the other wanted leaders (Mladic, Karadzic) risks dealing a blow - a fatal one, say some - to this type of international legal system. Indeed, if old, rich Europe cannot manage to set an example, how can one hope to apply this concept to regions where democracy is in short supply ?"  

» full article (external link, French)
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