Trial of Gotovina et al.
The Trial of Gotovina et al. was a war crimes trial held from March 2008 until (including the appeals process) November 2012 before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), set up in 1993. The ICTY indicted Croatian Army (HV) generals Ante Gotovina, Ivan Čermak, and Mladen Markač for war crimes, specifically for their roles in Operation Storm, citing their participation in a joint criminal enterprise (JCE) aimed at the permanent removal of Serbs from the Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) held part of Croatia.
| Trial of Gotovina et al. | |
|---|---|
| Court | International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia |
| Full case name | Gotovina et al. (IT-06-90) "Operation Storm" |
| Decided | 16 November 2012 |
| Transcript(s) | ICTY case transcripts |
| Case history | |
| Related action(s) | Čermak & Markač (IT-03-73) "Operation Storm", Gotovina (IT-01-45) |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Trial chamber: Alphons Orie, Uldis Ķinis, Elisabeth Gwaunza Appeals chamber: Theodor Meron, Mehmet Güney, Fausto Pocar, Patrick Lipton Robinson, Carmel Agius |
| Case opinions | |
| Separate opinion: Theodor Meron Separate opinion: Patrick Lipton Robinson Dissenting opinion: Carmel Agius Dissenting opinion: Fausto Pocar | |
The ICTY charges specified that other participants in the JCE were President of Croatia Franjo Tuđman, defence minister Gojko Šušak, and generals Janko Bobetko and Zvonimir Červenko, however, all except Bobetko were dead before the first relevant ICTY indictment was issued in 2001. General Bobetko was indicted by the ICTY, but died a year later, before he could be transferred to the ICTY. The trial brought convictions of Gotovina and Markač and acquittal of Čermak in April 2011. Gotovina and Markač were acquitted on appeal in November 2012.
The case raised significant issues for law of war and it has been described as a precedent.