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Kosovo law students learn about the ICTY

Pristina, 3 November 2014

Over 100 students from two universities in Pristina, Kosovo, today attended lectures on the practice and jurisprudence of the ICTY in adjudicating war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Both lectures were delivered by Emiliya Viktorova, Legal Officer in the MICT Appeals Chamber.

The first lecture was given at the law faculty of Pristina University with 80 students in attendance, while the second was delivered at the law faculty of AAB University to an audience of around 30 students. At both lectures, Emiliya explained the basic elements of the three categories of crimes under the Tribunal’s jurisdiction and presented specific examples from case law in relation to the crimes of unlawful attacks against civilians, torture, persecutions through sexual assault, and genocide. Emiliya also provided a detailed explanation of the Appeals judgement in the Šainović et al. case.

The students were interested in knowing more about the protection afforded to civilians during an armed conflict, the legal elements of the crime of genocide, and the various witness protection measures granted by the Tribunal.

Questions were raised as to why the Tribunal has not found that genocide was committed in Kosovo as well as whether crimes committed by both sides to the conflict should be prosecuted. The students were also interested in knowing how they can access the Tribunal’s jurisprudence.

At the end of the lectures, representatives from both universities stated that there are many misperceptions in Kosovo about the work of the Tribunal and expressed their strong interest in having closer co-operation with the Tribunal. They suggested that representatives of the Tribunal deliver lectures on a regular basis in Kosovo and that the opportunity be given to students to visit the Tribunal and receive further information on its work and achievements.