EVROPSKI SUD ZA LJUDSKA PRAVA
PETO ODJELJENJE
PREDMET JORGIĆ protiv NJEMAČKE
(Predstavka br. 74613/01)
PRESUDA
STRAZBUR
12. jul 2007. godine
PRAVOSNAŽNA
12.10.2007.
U predmetu Jorgić protiv Njemačke, Evropski sud za ljudska prava (Peto odjeljenje), zasijedajući u Vijeću u sastavu:
Peer Lorenzen, Predsjednik,
Snejana Botoucharova,
Volodymyr Butkevych,
Margarita Tsatsa-Nikolovska,
Rait Maruste,
Javier Borrego Borrego,
Renate Jaeger, sudije,
i Claudia Westerdiek, Sekretar Odjeljenja,
nakon vijećanja bez prisustva javnosti dana 19. juna 2007. godine, donosi sljedeću presudu, koja je usvojena toga dana:
PROCEDURA
Predmet je pokrenut predstavkom (br. 74613/01) protiv Savezne Republike Njemačke koju je sudu po članu 34 Konvencije za zaštitu ljudskih prava i osnovnih sloboda (u daljem tekstu: Konvencija) podnio državljanin Bosne i Hercegovine srpskog porijekla, g. Nikola Jorgić (u daljem tekstu: Podnosilac predstavke), dana 23. maja 2001. godine.
Podnosioca predstavke pred Sudom je zastupao g. H. Grünbauer, advokat sa praksom u Lajpcigu. Njemačku vladu (u daljem tekstu: Vlada) zastupao je njihov Zastupnik g-đa Mrs A. Wittling-Vogel, Ministerialdirigentin, iz Saveznog Ministarstva pravde uz asistenciju g. G. Werle, profesora prava na Univerzitetu Humboldt u Berlinu.
Podnosilac predstavke, pozivajući se na član 5 stav 1 (a) i član 6 stav 1 Konvencije naveo je da njemački sudovi nisu imali nadležnost da ga osude za genocid. On je dalje konstatovao da, naročito zbog odbijanja domaćih sudova da pozovu bilo kakvog svjedoka odbrane koji bi morao sudski da se pozove iz inostranstva, on nije imao pravično suđenje u smislu člana 6 stav 1 i stav 3(d) Konvencije. Štaviše, on se požalio da njegova osuđujuća presuda za genocid predstavlja povredu člana 7 stav 1 Konvencije, naročito zbog toga što široko tumačenje tog krivičnog djela od strane domaćih sudova nije imalo osnova u njemačkom ili javnom međunarodnom pravu.
Dana 7 jula 2005. godine Sud je odlučio da o predstavci obavijesti Vladu. Dana 2. oktobra 2006. godine Sud je odlučio da ispita meritum predstavke u isto vrijeme kada i njenu prihvatljivost po odredbama člana 29 stav 3 Konvencije u vezi sa pravilom 54A stav 3 Poslovnika suda.
Vlada Bosne i Hercegovine, nakon što je obaviještena o njihovom pravu da interveniše u postupku (član 36 stav 1 Konvencije i pravilo 44) nije pokazala želju da ostvari to svoje pravo.
ČINJENICE
I. OKOLNOSTI PREDMETA
1. Osnovni podaci o predmetu
1969. godine podnosilac predstavke, državljanin Bosne i Hercegovine srpskog porijekla ušao je u Njemačku gdje je zakonito boravio do početka 1992. godine. Zatim se vratio u Kostajnicu, koja čini dio grada Doboja u Bosni gdje je rođen.
Dana 16. decembra 1995. godine podnosilac predstavke uhapšen je kada je ušao u Njemačku i smješten je u istražni pritvor na osnovu toga što je bio pod jakom sumnjom da je počinio djelo genocida.
2. Postupak u Apelacionom sudu u Dizeldorfu (Düsseldorf)
Dana 28. februara 1997. godine pred Apelacionim sudom u Dizeldorfu (Oberlandesgericht) koji je djelovao kao sud prvog stepena, počelo je suđenje podnosiocu predstavke pod optužnicom da je počinio genocid u region Doboja između maja i septembra 1992. godine
Tokom postupka Apelacioni sud saslušao je dokaze šest svjedoka koje je pozvalo tužilaštvo, koji su sudski pozvani iz inostranstva.
Dana 18. juna 1997. godine podnosilac predstavke tražio je od Apelacionog suda da pozove i sasluša dokaze osam svjedoka iz Kostajnice da bi se dokazala činjenica da je on bio u istražnom zatvoru u Doboju u periodu od 14. maja do 15. avgusta 1992. godine i da zbog toga nije mogao da počini krivična djela za koja je optužen. Dana 10. jula 1997. godine podnosilac predstavke tražio je dozvolu da se pozove još sedamnaest svjedoka iz Kostajnice da dokažu njegove navode.
Dana 18. avgusta 1997. godine Apelacioni sud odbio je zahtjeve podnosioca predstavke da pozove ove svjedoke. Pozivajući se na clan 244 stav 5, drugu rečenicu Zakonika o krivičnom postupku (v. stav 39 ove presude), Apelacioni sud je smatrao da svjedočenje ovih svjedoka ima malu dokaznu vrijednost. Sedam od tih svjedoka dalo je pisane izjave koje su već pročitane u sudu. Samo je jedan od njih zaista tvrdio da je podnosioca predstavke posjetio u zatvoru. Uzevši u obzir već uzete dokaze, sud je mogao da isključi mogućnost da bi svjedočenje svjedoka koje je naveo podnosilac predstavke, ako bi bilo dato lično, moglo da utiče na ocjenu dokaza suda. Sud je istakao da je već više od dvadeset svjedoka koji su već bili saslušani u sudu, uključujući i dva novinara koji nisu bili žrtve zločina za koje je podnosilac predstavke optužen, vidjelo podnosioca predstavke na različitim mjestima van zatvora tokom vremena u kome je on tvrdio da je bio pritvoren. Dokumenti koje je podnosilac predstavke predao u vezi sa početkom i završetkom njegovog pritvora u Doboju ne omogućavaju drugačiji zaključak, pošto ih je očigledno potpisala osoba koju podnosilac predstavke dobro poznaje.
Dana 8. septembra 1997. godine podnosilac predstavke tražio je da Sud pozove tri svjedoka iz Doboja da bi dokazao da je bio u pritvoru u periodu između 14. maja i 15. avgusta 1992. godine. On je takođe tražio da se izvrši pregled lica mjesta krivičnog djela (Augenscheinseinnahme) u Grabskoj ili, alternativno, da se sačini topografska mapa da bi se dokazalo da izjave svjedoka koje se odnose na njegova navodna djela u Grabskoj nisu vjerodostojne.
Dana 14. septembra 1997. godine Apelacioni sud odbio je zahtjeve podosioca predstavke. Što se tiče odbijanja da sudski pozove navedena tri svjedoka, sud je, ponovo se pozivajući na član 244 stav 5 Zakonika o krivičnom postupku, našao da bi svjedočenje ovih svjedoka bilo od male dokazne vrijednosti. Saslušavši dokaze koje su dali drugi svjedoci, Sud je bio uvjeren da u predmetno vrijeme podnosilac predstavke nije bio pritvoren. Sud je dalje izrazio stav da je pregled lica mjesta krivičnog djela ili sastavljanje topografske mape istog dokaz koji je nemoguće dobiti (unerreichbare Beweismittel) u smislu značenja člana 244 stav 3 Zakonika o krivičnom postupku (v. stav 38 ove presude), koji zbog toga sud ne mora da prihvati.
U svojoj presudi od 26. septembra 1997. godine, Apelacioni sud u Dizeldorfu osudio je podnosioca predstavke po jedanaest stavki optužnice za genocid (član 220a br. 1 i 3 Krivičnog Zakonika – v. stav 34 ove presude) i za ubistvo dvadeset i dvoje ljudi u jednom predmetu, sedam ljudi u drugom predmetu i jedne osobe u trećem predmetu. U preostalim predmetima, on je osuđen po nekoliko stavki optužnice za opasan nasrtaj i lišavanje slobode. Sud je podnosioca predstavke osudio na doživotnu kaznu zatvora i naveo da je njegova krivica naročite težine (v. stav 37 ove presude)
Sud je našao da je podnosilac predstavke osnovao paravojnu grupu, sa kojom je učestvovao u etničkom čišćenju koje su naredili srpski politički lideri i srpska vojska u području Doboja. On je konkretno učestvovao u hapšenju, pritvaranju, napadanju i zlostavljanju muslimanskih muškaraca iz tri sela u Bosni početkom maja i juna 1992. godine. On je ubio nekoliko stanovnika tih sela. On je konkretno ubio dvadeset i dva mještana sela Grabska – žene i invalide i starije – u junu 1992. godine. Nakon toga podnosilac predstavke je zajedno sa paravojnom formacijom koju je vodio, protjerao četrdeset muškaraca iz njihovih kuća u selu i naredio da ih se muči, a da se šestorica ubiju strijeljanjem. Sedmo povrijeđeno lice umrlo je jer je spaljeno sa leševima šestorice strijeljanih muškaraca. U septembru 1992. godine podnosilac predstavke ubio je zatvorenika kojega su zlostavljali vojnici u zatvoru u Doboju, drvenom toljagom kako bi demonstrirao novi metod mučenja i ubijanja.
Sud je naveo da ima nadležnost nad predmetom po članu 6 br. 1 Krivičnog zakonika (v. stav 34 ove presude). Postojala je legitimna veza za krivično gonjenje u Njemačkoj, pošto je to bilo u skladu sa njemačkim vojnim i humanitarnim misijama u Bosni i Hercegovini, a podnosilac predstavke boravio je u Njemačkoj više od dvadeset godina i tamo je bio uhapšen. Nadalje, slažući se sa nalazima eksperta za međunarodno javno pravo, sud je našao da njemački sudovi nisu po međunarodnom javnom pravu isključeni iz suđenja u ovom predmetu. Konkretno, ni član IV Konvencije o sprečavanju i kažnjavanju krivičnog djela genocida iz 1948. godine (Konvencija o genocidu) ni clan 9 Statuta Međunarodnog krivičnog suda za bivšu Jugoslaviju (Statut MKSBJ) (v. stavove 48-49 ove presude) ne isključuju nadležnost njemačkih sudova za djela genocida počinjena van Njemačke od strane stranca protiv stranaca. Sud je smatrao da je taj stav potvrđen činjenicom da je Međunarodni krivični sud za bivšu Jugoslaviju izrazio da nije spreman da preuzme krivično gonjenje podnosioca predstavke.
Nadalje, sud je našao da je podnosilac predstavke postupao sa namjerom da počini genocid u okviru značenja člana 220a Krivičnog zakonika. Pozivajući se na stavove koje je izrazilo nekoliko zakonopisaca, sud je konstatova da “uništavanje grupe” u okviru značenja 220a Krivičnog zakonika znači uništavanje grupe kao društvene jedinice sa njenom posebnošću i razlikovnim svojstvima i njenim osjećajem pripadnosti toj grupi (“Zerstörung der Gruppe als sozialer Einheit in ihrer Besonderheit und Eigenart und ihrem Zusammengehörigkeitsgefühl”); biološko-fizičko uništavanje nije neophodno. Sud je zaključio da je podnosilac predstavke stoga djelovao u namjeri da uništi grupu Muslimana na sjeveru Bosne, ili barem u području Doboja.
3. Postupak pred Saveznim sudom pravde
Dana 30. aprila 1999. godine Savezni sud pravde, nakon zahtjeva za reviziju koji je predao podnosilac predstavke i nakon saslušanja, osudio je podnosioca predstavke po stavki optužnice za genocid i po trideset stavki optužnice za ubistvo. Sud mu je izrekao doživotnu kaznu zatvora i naveo da je njegova krivica naročite težine.
Potvrđujući razloge koje je naveo Apelacioni sud, Savezni sud pravde je našao da je njemačko krivično pravo primjenjivo na ovaj konkretan predmet i da su zbog toga njemački sudovi imali nadležnost nad tim predmetom po osnovu člana 6 stav 1 Krivičnog zakonika. Sud je našao, konkretno, da nijedno pravilo međunarodnog prava ne zabranjuje da njemački krivični sudovi osude podnosioca predstavke u skladu sa principima univerzalne jurisdikcije (Universalitäts-/Weltrechtsprinzip) koji je pohranjen u tom članu. Sud je priznao da pomenuti princip nije izričito predviđen članom VI Konvencije o genocidu, iako su raniji nacrti Konvencije o genocidu predlagali tako nešto. Međutim, pomenuti član ne zabranjuje da licima koja su optužena za genocid sude domaći sudovi koji nisu u sudovi države na čijoj je teritoriji počinjen sam čin. Svako drugo tumačenje ne bi bilo spojivo sa obavezom erga omnes koju su Strane ugovornice preuzele po članu 1 Konvencije o genocidu da sprečavaju i kažnjavaju genocid (v. stav 48 ove presude). Gore navedeno tumačenje Konvencije o genocidu takođe je potvrđeno članom 9 stav 1 Statuta Međunarodnog krivičnog suda za bivšu Jugoslaviju, koji predviđa zajedničku nadležnost tog Suda i svih drugih domaćih sudova.
Štaviše, Savezni sud pravde našao je da njemački sudovi takođe imaju nadležnost po članu 7 stav 2 br. 2 Krivičnog zakonika (v. stav 34 ove presude).
Savezni sud pravde nije se izričito bavio pritužbama podnosioca predstavke da je Apelacioni sud u svojoj odluci od 18. avgusta 1997. godine odbio da sudski pozove iz inostranstva bilo kog svjedoka odbrane koga je podnosilac predstavke naveo na osnovu člana 244 stav 5 Zakonika o krivičnom postupku. Međutim, Savezni sud pravde generalno je uputio na podneske Saveznog državnog tužioca (Generalbundesanwalt), koji je iznio argument da je žalba podnosioca predstavke neprihvatljiva u tom smislu jer on nije izložio relevantne činjenice sa dovoljno detalja. Što se tiče pritužbe podnosioca predstavke da je Apelacioni sud, u svojoj odluci od 12. septembra 1997. godine odbio da sudski pozove još tri svjedoka odbrane iz inostranstva, Savezni sud pravde izrazio je mišljenje da je ta pritužba neprihvatljiva, jer nije u dovoljnoj mjeri izložio relevantne činjenice i nije obezbijedio dovoljno razloga u svojoj žalbi. Sud je dalje uputio na podneske Saveznog državnog tužioca u vezi sa pritužbom podnosioca predstavke da je Apelacioni sud odbio da naloži da se uradi topografska mapa. Po mišljenju Saveznog državnog tužioca, pritužba podnosioca predstavke bila je neosnovana u tom smislu, posebno zato što je Apelacioni sud imao video snimak relevantnog lokaliteta.
Savezni sud pravde potvrdio je nalaz Apelacionog suda da je podnosilac predstavke namjeravao da počini genocid u smislu člana 220a Krivičnog zakonika, ali je našao da njegova djela u cjelini moraju da se razmatraju samo kao jedna stavka optužnice za genocid. Ovaj sud je uputio na formulaciju člana 220a stav 1 br 4. (izricanje mjera koje imaju za cilj da sprečavaju rođenje u okviru grupe) i br 5 (prisilno prebacivanje djece jedne grupe u neku drugu) da bi potkrijepio svoj stav da genocid nije nužno morao da ima za cilj da se fizički uništi neka grupa, već da je bilo dovoljno da se ima namjera da se grupa uništi kao društvena jedinica.
4. Postupak pred Saveznim ustavnim sudom
Dana 12. decembra 2000. godine Savezni ustavni sud odbio je da razmatra ustavnu žalbu podnosioca predstavke.
Prema Ustavnom sudu, krivični sudovi nisu povrijedili ni jednu odredbu Osnovnog zakona tako što su ustanovili svoju nadležnost po članu 6 br. 1 Krivičnog zakonika koji su tumačili u vezi sa članom VI Konvencije o genocidu. Princip univerzalne nadležnosti omogućavao je razumnu vezu da se bave predmetom koji se pojavio van teritorije njemačke, a da u isto vrijeme poštuju obavezu nemiješanja (Interventionsverbot) po međunarodnom javnom pravu. Obrazloženje nadležnih sudova, naime, da im član 6 br. 1 Krivičnog zakonika kada se čita u vezi sa članom VI Konvencije o genocidu daje pravo da ispitaju predmet podnosioca predstavke, nije bilo proizvoljno. Moglo je razumno da se obrazloži da Konvencija o genocidu, iako ne reguliše izričito princip univerzalne nadležnosti, predviđa da Strane ugovornice nemaju obavezu da krivično gone počinioce genocida, ali da imaju nadležnost za to. Zapravo, genocid je klasičan predmet na koji se primjenjuje princip univerzalne nadležnosti. Obrazloženje krivičnih sudova nije zadiralo u subjektivitet ili teritorijalnu suverenost Bosne i Hercegovine, pošto se ta država izričito uzdržala od toga da traži izručenje podnosioca predstavke.
Ističući da u slučaju prihvatljive ustavne žalbe on ima pravo da ispita činjenice na koje se pritužbe odnose sa svih ustavno-pravnih aspekata, Savezni ustavni sud dalje je našao da nije povrijeđeno pravo podnosioca predstavke na pravično suđenje koje se garantuje Osnovnim zakonom. Nema sumnje da je član 244 stavovi 3 i 5 Zakonika o krivičnom postupku usklađen sa ustavom. Zakonodavac nije imao obavezu da uspostavi konkretna procesna pravila za određena krivična djela. Pravo na pravično suđenje ne daje podnosiocu predstavke pravo na proizvođenje određenih dokaza, kao što je pozivanje svjedoka koji moraju da se sudski pozovu iz inostranstva.
Što se tiče tumačenja člana 220a Krivičnog zakonika, Savezni ustavni sud utvrdio je da nije bilo povrede principa da krivično pravo ne treba da se primjenjuje retroaktivno, koji se garantuje članom 103 stav 2 Osnovnog zakona. Ovaj sud je naveo da je način na koji su Apelacioni sud i Savezni sud pravde tumačili pojam “namjere da se uništi” u navedenom članu bio predvidljiv. Štaviše, to tumačenje je u skladu sa tumačenjem zabrane genocida u međunarodnom javnom pravu – u svjetlu kojeg se mora tumačiti član 220a Krivičnog zakonika – koje su dali nadležni tribunal, nekoliko naučnika i koje se odražava i u praksi Ujednijenih nacija a izraženo je, između ostalog u Rezoluciji 47/121 Generalne skupštine (v. stav 41 ove presude.)
5. Ponovno otvaranje postupka
Dana 3. jula 2002. godine Apelacioni sud u Dizeldorfu proglasio je neprihvatljivim zahtjev podnosioca predstavke da se ponovo otvori postupak. Činjenica da jedan od svjedoka koje je ispitao Apelacioni sud i koji je bio jedina osoba koja je tvrdila da je očevidac događaja u kome je podnosilac predstavke ubio dvadeset i dvoje ljudi u Grabskoj, bio osumnjičen za krivokletstvo nije obezbijedila ponovno otvaranje postupka. Čak i ako se pretpostavi da je navedeni svjedok izmislio navode protiv podnosioca predstavke, podnosilac predstavke bi ipak morao da bude osuđen na doživotnu kaznu zatvora za genocid i po osam stavki optužnice za ubistvo.
Dana 20. decembra 2002. godine (odluka uručena 28. januara 2003. godine) Savezni sud pravde odlučio je da je zahtjev podnosioca predstavke da se ponovo otvori postupak prihvatljiv u mjeri u kojoj se odnosi na ubijanje dvadeset ljudi u Grabskoj. Ovaj sud je istakao, međutim, da čak i ako se pretpostavi da se ne može potvrditi osuđujuća presuda podnosiocu predstavke po dvadeset i dvije stavke optužnice za ubistvo, njegova osuđujuća presuda za genocid i za osam stavki optužnice za ubistvo, te stoga i njegova doživotna zatvorska kazna, uključujući i nalaz da je njegova kriviča naročite težine, i dalje bi ostali na snazi.
U ustavnoj žalbi dana 28. februara 2003. godine, podnosilac predstavke tvrdio je da odluke Apelacionog suda u Dizeldorfu i Saveznog suda pravde koje se odnose na ponovno otvaranje postupka predstavljaju povredu njegovog prava na slobodu koje se garantuje Osnovnim zakonom. On je naveo da su oni pogriješili u svom nalazu da u postupku za ponovno otvaranje predmeta nije moralo iznova da se ocjenjuje pitanje da li je krivica podnosioca predstavke bila od naročite težine.
Dana 22. aprila 2003. godine Savezni ustavni sud odbio je da prihvati ustavnu žalbu podnosioca predstavke.
Dana 21. juna 2004. godine Apelacioni sud u Dizeldorfu odlučio je da ponovo otvori postupak vezan za osuđujuću presudu podnosiocu predstavke za strijeljanje dvadeset i dvoje ljudi u Grabskoj. Ovaj sud je ustanovio da je jedino lice koje je tvrdilo da je bilo očevidac ovih ubistava bilo proglašeno krivim za krivokletstvo za neke druge izjave. Stoga Sud nije mogao da odbaci mogućnost da bi sudije kada su sudile u ovom predmetu možda oslobodile podnosioca predstavke po toj optužnici da su znale da su neke izjave ovog svjedokan lažne.
Apelacioni sud prekinuo je postupak u dijelu u kome prihvaćen zahtjev podnosioca predstavke da se ponovo otvori postupak. Argument koji su naveli bio je da kazna koju može da očekuje podnosilac predstavke, ako ponovo bude utvrđeno da je kriv za ubistvo dvadeset i dvoje ljudi u Grabskoj, nije značajno veća od kazne koja mu je za genocid već izrečena sa obavezujućim dejstvom. Kao posljedica toga, presuda Apelacionog suda iz Dizeldorfa od 26. septembra 1997. godine ostala je pravosnažna u odnosu na osuđujuću presudu za genocid i osam stavki optužnice za ubistvo uključujući i nalaz suda da je njegova krivica naročite težine.
II. RELEVANTNO DOMAĆE I MEĐUNARODNO JAVNO PRAVO I PRAKSA
1. Krivični zakonik
Član 6 - Djela počinjena u inostranstvu protiv međunarodno zaštićenih pravnih interesa
“Njemačko krivično pravo dalje se primjenjuje na sljedeća djela počinjena u inostranstvu, bez obzira na nadležno pravo na teritoriji gdje su počinjena:
1. genocid (član 220a);
...”
Član 7 - Primjenjivost na djela počinjena u inostranstvu u drugim slučajevima
“1. ...
2. Njemačko krivično pravo primjenjuje se na druga djela počinjena u inostranstvu ako je djelo kažnjivo u mjestu gdje je počinjeno ili ako mjesto gdje je to djelo počinjeno ne podliježe sprovođenju krivičnog prava ili ako je počinilac...
(2) bio stranac u vrijeme djela, utvrđeno je da je u Njemačkoj i ako, iako zakon o izručenju dozvoljava izručenje za takvo djelo, nije izručen zbog toga što nije podnesen zahtjev za izručenje, ili je odbijen ili se izručenje ne može izvršiti.”
Član 220a - Genocid
“1. Kogod, djelujući u namjeri da uništi u cjelini ili dijelom, neku nacionalnu, rasnu, vjersku ili etničku grupu kao takvu,
(1) ubije članove grupe,
(2) izazove teške fizičke ili duševne boli... članovima grupe,
(3) dovede grupu u takve uslove života koji mogu da dovedu do njihovog fizičkog uništenja u cjelini ili dijelom,
(4) izrekne mjere koje imaju za cilj da spriječe rođenja unutar te grupe,
(5) prisilno prebacuje djecu iz jedne grupe u drugu,
kažnjava se doživotnom kaznom zatvora...”
Član 220a Krivičnog zakonika unesen je u njemački Krivični zakonik Zakonom od 9. avgusta 1954. godine o pristupanju Njemačke Konvenciji o genocidu i stupio je na snagu 1955. godine. Član 6 br. 1 i Član 220a Krivičnog zakonika prestali su da budu na snazi 30. juna 2002. godine kada je Zakonik o zločinima protiv međunarodnog prava (Völkerstrafgesetzbuch) stupio na snagu. Po članu 1 novog Zakonika, on se primjenjuje na krivična djela protiv međunarodnog prava kao što je genocid (v. član 6 novog Zakonika) čak i kada se krivična djela počine u inostranstvu i nemaju nikakve veze sa Njemačkom.
Podnosilac predstavke prvo je lice koje su njemački sudovi osudili za genocid po članu 220a od kada je taj član unesen u Krivični zakonik. U vrijeme kada je podnosilac predstavke počinio svoja djela 1992. godine, većina naučnika zauzela je stav da genocidna “namjera da se uništi grupa” po članu 220a Krivičnog zakonika mora da bude usmjerena na fizičkobiološko uništavanje zaštićene grupe (v. na primjer, A.Eser u Schönke/Schröder, Strafgesetzbuch – Kommentar, 24. izdanje, Minhen 1991, član 220a, stavovi 4-5 i dalja tu navedena literatura). Međutim, značajan broj naučnika bio je mišljenja da pojam uništenja grupe kao takve, u svom bukvalnom značenju jeste širi nego fizičko-biološko istrebljenje i da obuhvata i grupu kao društvenu jedinicu (v. naročito H.-H. Jescheck, Die internationale Genocidium-Konvention vom 9. Dezember 1948 und die Lehre vom Völkerstrafrecht, ZStW 66 (1954), str. 213, i B. Jähnke u Leipziger Kommentar, Strafgesetzbuch, 10. izdanje, Berlin, Njujork 1989, član 220a, stavovi 4, 8 i 13).
Po članu 57a stav 1 Krivičnog zakonika, doživotna kazna zatvora može da se prekine uslovnom slobodom samo ukoliko se konkretno petnaest godina kazne odsluži, a naročita težina krivice optuženog (besondere Schwere der Schuld) ne obezbjeđuje da se izvršenje kazne nastavi.
2. Zakonik o krivičnom postupku
Po članu 244 stav 3 Zakonika o krivičnom postupku, zahtjev da se proizvedu dokazi može da se odbaciti samo pod uslovima koji su predviđeni u tom članu. Taj se zahtjev može odbiti, između ostalog, ako je dokaz nemoguće dobiti (unerreichbar).
Član 244 stav 5, druga rečenica Zakonika o krivičnom postupku predviđa posebne uslove za odbacivanje zahtjeva za ispitivanje svjedoka koji se mora sudski pozvati iz inostranstva. Ti uslovi su manje strogi nego uslovi za odbacivanje zahtjeva da se saslušaju dokazi od svjedoka koji se mogu sudski pozvati unutar Njemačke. Dovoljno je da sud, u propisnom ostvarivanju svoje slobode u odlučivanju, smatra da ispitivanje svjedoka nije neophodno da bi se ustanovila istina.
3. Komparativno i međunarodno javno pravo i praksa
(a) Definicija i obim zločina genocida kao krivičnog djela
(i) Konvencija o sprečavanju i kažnjavanju zločina genocida iz 1948. godine (Konvencija o genocidu)
Član II
“U ovoj Konvenciji, genocidom se smatra svako od sljedećih djela koje je počinjeno sa namjerom da se uništi, u cjelini ili dijelom, nacionalna, etnička, rasna ili vjerska grupa, kao što je:
(a) ubijanje članova grupe;
(b) izazivanje fizičkog ili duševnog bola članovima grupe;
(c) namjerno nametanje nekoj grupi uslova za život koji su sračunati na to da dovedu do fizičkog uništenja grupe u cjelositi ili dijelom;
(d) uvođenje mjera koje imaju za cilj da spriječe rođenja unutar grupe;
(e) prisilno prebacivanje djece iz jedne grupe u drugu.”
(ii) Rezolucija Generalne skupštine Ujedinjenih nacija
“Ozbiljno zabrinuti pogoršanjem situacije u Republici Bosni i Hercegovini zbog pojačanih agresivnih djelovanja srpskih i crnogorskih snaga sa ciljem da se silom stekne više teritorija, koje karakteriše dosljedan obrazac grubog i sistematskog kršenja ljudskih prava, sve veća izbjegljička populacija koja nastaje zbog masovnih protjerivanja nemoćnih civila iz njihovih domova i postojanja područja koncentracionih logora i centara za pritvor koja kontrolišu srpske i crnogorske snage, u cilju užasne politike “etničkog čišćenja”, koji jeste oblik genocida...”
(iii) Sudska praksa Međunarodnog krivičnog suda za bivšu Jugoslaviju
U slučaju Tužilac protiv Krstića, IT-98-33-T, presuda od 2. avgusta 2001. godine, stavovi 577-80, Sudsko vijeće Međunarodnog krivičnog suda za bivšu Jugoslaviju (MKSBJ), izričito odstupajući od šireg tumačenja pojma “namjera da se uništi” Generalne skupštine Ujedinjenih nacija i Saveznog ustavnog suda u svojoj presudi od 12. decembra 2000. godine u ovom predmetu, utvrdilo je sljedeće u odnosu na Konvenciju o genocidu:
“577. Nekoliko novijih deklaracija i odluka, međutim, tumače namjeru da se uništi... tako da obuhvata dokaze koji se odnose na djela koja obuhvataju kulturne i nefizičke oblike uništenja grupe.
578. 1992. godine, Generalna skupština Ujedinjenih nacija označila je etničko čišćenje kao oblik genocida. ...
579. Savezni ustavni sud Njemačke u decembru 2000. godine konstatovao je da zakonska definicija genocida brani supra-individualni predmet pravne zaštite, tj. društveno postojanje grupe.... Namjera da se uništi grupa seže dalje od fizičkog i biološkog istrebljenja... Tekst zakona stoga ne nameće tumačenje da namjera krivca mora da bude da se fizički istrijebi barem značajan broj članova grupe...
580. Sudsko vijeće svjesno je da mora da tumači Konvenciju uz dužno poštovanje prema principu nullum crimen sine lege. Stoga ono prepoznaje da, uprkos novijim dešavanjima, običajno međunarodno pravo ograničava definiciju genocida na ona djela kojima se pokušava počiniti fizičko ili biološko uništenje cjelokupne grupe ili dijela grupe. Stoga poduhvat kojim se vrši napad samo na kulturološke ili sociološke karakteristike ljudske grupe da bi se uništili ovi elementi koji toj grupi daju njenu identitetsku posebnost u odnosu na ostatak zajednice ne bi potpadali pod definiciju genocida. Sudsko vjeće, međutim, ističe da kada postoji fizičko ili biološko uništenje često postoje i istovremeni napadi na kulturnu ili vjersku imovinu i simbole ciljne grupe, napadi koji mogu legitimno da se smatraju dokazom namjere da se grupa fizički uništi.”
Presuda Sudskog vijeća u ovom djelu potvrđena je presudom od 19. Aprila 2004. godine koju je donijelo Žalbeno vijeće Međunarodnog krivičnog suda za bivšu Jugoslaviju IT-98-33-A koje je našlo:
“25. Konvencija o genocidu i običajno međunarodno pravo generalno gledano, zabranjuju samo fizičko ili biološko uništenje ljudske grupe... Sudsko vijeće izričito je prepoznalo ovo ograničenje i izbjeglo svaku širu definiciju ...”
33. ... Činjenica da prisilno prebacivanje ne predstavlja samo po sebi genocidan čin ne sprečava Sudsko vijeće da se na njega osloni kao na dokaz namjera članova Glavnog štaba VRS. Genocidna namjera može se izvući, između ostalog, iz dokaza ‘drugih krivičnih djela koja su sistematski usmjerena protiv iste grupe’.”
Slično tome, u predmetu Tužilac protiv Kupreškića i drugih (IT-95-16-T, presuda od 14. januara 2000. godine, stav 751), koji se odnosi na ubijanje otprilike 116 muslimana da bi se muslimanska populacija protjerala iz jednog sela MKSBJ je našao:
“Progon je samo jedan korak do genocida – najužasnijeg zločina protiv čovječnosti – jer se kod genocida, namjera da se izvrši progon dovodi do krajnjih granica kroz pokušaje fizičkog uništenja grupe ili članova grupe. U zločinu genocida kriminalna namjera je da se uništi grupa ili njeni članovi; u zločinu progona kriminalna namjera je da se vrši silom diskriminacija protiv neke grupe ili njenih članova tako što se grubo i sistematski krše njihova osnovna ljudska prava. U ovom konkretnom predmetu, prema mipljenju tužioca – a to je stvar sa kojom se slaže Sudsko vijeće – ubijanje muslimanskih civila prvenstveno je imalo za cilj da protjera grupu iz sela, ne da uništi grupu muslimana kao takvu. Stoga je to slučaj progona, a ne genocida.”
(iv) Sudska praksa Međunarodnog suda pravde
U svojoj presudi od 26. februara 2007. godine u predmetu Bosna i Hercegovina protiv Srbije i Crne Gore (“predmet koji se odnosi na primjenu Konvencije o sprečavanju i kažnjavanju zločina genocida”), Međunarodni sud pravde (MSP) utvrdio je pod zaglavljem “namjera i ‘etničko čišćenje’” (stav 190):
“Termin ‘etničko čišćenje’ često se koristi da se opišu događaji u Bosni i Hercegovni koji su predmet ovog slučaja... Rezolucija 47/121 Generalne Skupštine u svojoj Preambuli pominje ‘užasnu politiku “etničkog čišćenja”, koja predstavlja oblik genocida’, koja se sprovodi u Bosni i Hercegovini... Ono (tj. etničko čišćenje) može da bude samo oblik genocida u okviru značenja iz Konvenicje, ukoliko odgovara ili potpada u jednu od kategorija djela koje se zabranjuju članom II Konvencije. Ni namjera, kao stvar politike, da se neko područje učini ‘etnički homogenim’, niti operacije koje se mogu izvršavati da se takva politika implementira, ne mogu kao takvi da se označe kao genocid: namjera koja karakteriše genocid jeste ‘da se uništi u cijelosti ili dijelom’ neka konkretna grupa, a deportacija ili raseljavanje članova neke grupe, čak i kada se vrši silom, nije nužno ekvivalentno uništenju te grupe, niti takvo uništenje predstavlja automatsku posljedicu raseljavanja. Ne želimo ovim reći da djela koja su opisana kao ‘etničko čišćenje’ nikada ne mogu da predstavljaju genocid, ukoliko su takva da se mogu okarakterisati kao, na primjer ‘namjerno dovođenje neke grupe u uslove života sračunate na to da dovedu do fizičkog uništenja u cijelosti ili dijelom’ što je suprotno članu II, stav (c) Konvencije, uz uslov da se takve radnje sprovode sa neophodnom konkretnom namjerom (dolus specialis), odnosno sa ciljem da se uništi grupa, što je drugačije od cilja da se grupa ukloni iz regiona. Kako je zapazio MKSBJ, iako ‘ima očiglednih sličnosti između genocidne politike i politike koja je obično poznata kao “etničko čišćenje” (Krstić, IT-98-33-T, Presuda Sudskog vijeća, 2. avgust 2001. godine, stav 562), ipak se ‘mora napraviti jasna razlika između fizičkog uništenja i pukog rastjerivanja neke grupe. Protjerivanje grupe ili dijela grupe samo po sebi nije dovoljno da se definiše kao genocid’ ...”
(v) Tumačenje drugih država potpisnica Konvencije
Prema materijalu koji je bio dostupan Sudu, samo je mali broj predmeta krivičnog gonjenja za genocid u drugim državama potpisnicama Konvencije. Nema prijavljenih slučajeva u kojima su sudovi ovih država definisali tip uništavanja grupe kakav je počinilac morao da namjerava počiniti da bi bio oglašen krivim za genocid, tj. da li pojam “namjere da se uništi” pokriva samo fizičko ili biološko uništenje i da li ono takođe predstavlja uništenje grupe kao društvene jedinice.
(vi) Tumačenje pravnih autora
Među naučnicima, većina je stava da etničko čišćenje, na način na koji su ga izvršile srpske snage u Bosni i Hercegovini da bi protjerali Muslimane i Hrvate iz njihovih domova ne predstavlja genocid (v., od mnogih izvora, William A. Schabas, Genocide in International Law: The Crime of Crimes, Cambridge 2000, pp. 199 et seq.). Međutim, značajan je broj naučnika koji su ukazali na to da ova djela predstavljaju genocid (v. između ostalog, M. Lippman, Genocide: The Crime of the Century, HOUJIL 23 (2001), p. 526, i J. Hübner, Das Verbrechen des Völkermordes im internationalen und nationalen Recht, Frankfurt am Main 2004, pp. 20817; G. Werle, praveći razliku u Völkerstrafrecht, 1. izdanje, Tübingen 2003, pp. 205, 218 et seq., ističe da od okolnosti predmeta, a naročito od obima počinjenih zločina, zavisi da li može da se dokaže namjera da se uništi grupa kao jedinica društva, za razliku od namjere da se grupa protjera).
(b) Univerzalna nadležnost za krivična djela genocida
(i) Konvencija o sprečavanju i kažnjavanju zločina genocida (Konvencija o genocidu)
48. Relevantne odredbe Konvencije o genocidu glase:
Član I
“Strane ugovornice potvrđuju da genocid, bez obzira da li se počini u vrijeme mira ili u vrijeme rata, predstavlja zločin po međunarodnom pravu za koji se one obavezuju da će ga sprečavati i kažnjavati.”
Član VI
“Licima optuženim za genocid ili za bilo koja druga djela pobrojana u članu III sudiće nadležni tribunal države na čijoj je teritoriji djelo počinjeno, ili međunarodni krivični tribunal koji ima nadležnost u odnosu na te strane ugovornice koje su obavezne da prihvate njegovu nadležnost.”
(ii) Statut Međunarodnog krivičnog suda za bivšu Jugoslaviju iz 1993. godine
49. Relevantne odredbe ovog Statuta propisuju:
Član 9 Zajednička nadležnost
“1. Međunarodni tribunal i domaći sudovi imaju zajedničku nadležnost da krivično gone lica za teške povrede međunarodnog humanitarnog prava koje su počinjene na teritoriji bivše Jugoslavije od 1. januara 1991. godine.
2. Međunarodni tribunal ima primat nad domaćim sudovima. U bilo kojoj fazi postupka, Međunarodni tribunal može formalno da traži od domaćih sudova da ustupe nadležnosti Međunarodnom tribunalu u skladu sa ovim Statutom i Poslovnikom i pravilima za izvođenje dokaza Međunarodnog tribunala.”
(iii) Sudska praksa Međunarodnog krivičnog suda za bivšu Jugoslaviju
Apelaciono vijeće Međunarodnog krivičnog suda za bivšu Jugoslaviju, u svojoj odluci od 2. oktobra 1995. godine o predlogu odbrane za žalbu protiv privremene odluke o nadležnosti u predmetu Tužilac protiv Tadića (br. IT-94-1), konstatovao je da “se danas priznaje univerzalna nadležnost u slučaju međunarodnog kriminala” (stav 62).
Slično tome, Sudsko vijeće MKSBJ, u svojoj presudi od 10. decembra 1998. godine u predmetu Tužilac protiv Furundžije (br. IT-95-17/1-T), našlo je da, pošto se smatra da međunarodni kriminal jeste nešto što se univerzalno osuđuje gdjegod da se počini, svaka država ima pravo da krivično goni i kažnjava počinioce takvih djela. Kako je u opštim napomenama naveo Vrhovni sud Izraela u predmetu Eichmann, a ponovio sud SAD u predmetu Demjanjuk, “upravo je univerzalna priroda krivičnih djela o kojima je riječ ta koja daje svakoj Državi ovlašćenje da sudi i kažnjava one koji u njihovom počinjavanju učestvuju” (stav 156).
(iv) Domaće pravo i praksa u drugim državama potpisnicama Konvencije
Prema informacijama i materijalu koji je pred Sudom, uključujući i materijal koji je predala Vlada koji nije osporen od strane podnosioca predstavke, zakonske odredbe brojnih drugih država potpisnica Konvencije ovlašćuju krivično gonjenje za genocid u okolnostima koje se mogu uporediti sa okolnostima ovog predmeta o kojima je ovdje riječ.
U mnogim državama potpisnicama Konvencije, krivično gonjenje genocida predmet je principa univerzalne jurisdikcije, tj.nadležnosti za krivična djela počinjena van teritorije države od strane lica koji nisu državljani te države, a protiv lica koja takođe nisu državljani te države i koja nisu usmjerena protiv nacionalnih interesa te države, barem ako se utvrdi da je okrivljeni prisutan na teritoriji te države (na primjer, Španija, Francuska, Belgija (barem do 2003), Finska, Italija, Letonija, Luksemburg, Holandija (od 2003), Rusija, Slovačka, Republika Češka i Mađarska). U vrijeme suđenja podnosiocu predstavke, brojne druge države dozvoljavale su krivično gonjenje za genocid počinjen u inostranstvu od strane stranih državljana protiv stranaca u skladu sa odredbama koje su slične principu zastupanja (stellvertretende Strafrechtspflege – uporediti član 7 stav 2 br. 2 Krivičnog zakonika Njemačke, stav 34 ove presude), na primjer, Austrija, Danska, Estonija, Poljska, Portugal, Rumunija, Švedska i Švajcarska (od 2000. godine). Među drržavama potpisnicama Konvencije koje ne predviđaju univerzalnu nadležnost za genocid našlo se, naročito, Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo.
Osim austrijskih, belgijskih i francuskih sudova, naročito španski sudovi su već sudili za optužnice za genocid, pozivajući se na princip univerzalne nadležnosti. Španski Audiencia Nacional, u svojoj presudi od 5. Novembra 1998. godine u predmetu Augusto Pinochet, izrazio je da španski sudovi imaju nadležnost nad tim predmetom. Što se tiče područja djelovanja Konvencije o genocidu ovaj sud je naveo:
“Član 6 Konvencije ne sprečava postojanje sudskih organa koji imaju nadležnost osim one na teritoriji gdje je krivično djelo počinjeno ili međunarodnih tribunala... bilo bi suprotno duhu Konvencije... da bi se izbjeglo počinjavanje takvih teških zločina uz nekažnjivost, da se smatra da ovaj član Konvencije ograničava vršenje nadležnosti, isključujući svaku drugu nadležnost osim one koja je predviđena odredbom o kojoj je riječ. Činjenica da se Strane ugovornice nisu sporazumjele o univerzalnoj nadležnosti nad krivičnim djelima za njihove pojedinačne nadležnosti ne sprečava uspostavljanje, od strane države koja je strana Konvencije, takve nadležnosti nad krivičnim djelima koja obuhvaaju cijeli svijet i utiču na međunarodnu zajednicu, i zapravo direktno utiču na cjelo čovječanstvo kako je navedeno u samoj Konvenciji ... Niti uslovi člana 6 Konvencije iz 1948. godine predstavljaju ovlašćenje da se isključi jurisdikcija za kažnjavanje genocida u nekoj straniu ugovornici kao što je Španija čije pravo utvrđuje vanteritorijalnost u odnosu na krivično gonjenje za takva krivična djela...” (Izvještaji o međunarodnom pravu, vol. 119, pp. 331 et seq., at pp. 335-36)
PRAVO
I. NAVODNE POVRED ČLANA 5 STAV 1 (a) I ČLANA 6 STAV 1 KONVENCIJE
Član 5
“1. Svako ima pravo na slobodu i bezbjednost ličnosti. Niko ne može biti lišen slobode osim u sljedećim slučajevima i u skladu sa zakonom propisanim postupkom:
a) u slučaju zakonitog lišenja slobode na osnovu presude nadležnog suda;
Član 6
“1. Svako, tokom odlučivanja ... o krivičnoj optužbi protiv njega, ima pravo na pravičnu ... raspravu ... pred ... sudom, obrazovanim na osnovu zakona...”
56. Vlada je osporila ove navode.
A. Prihvatljivost
B. Meritum
1. Podnesci strana
(a) Podnosila predstavke
Podnosilac predstavke zauzeo je stav da postoji opšte pravilo međunarodnog javnog prava, naime, dužnost nemiješanja koje, u principu, zabranjuje njemačkim sudovima da krivično gone stranca koji živi u inostranstvu za genocid koji je navodno počinio u stranoj zemlji protiv stranih žrtava. Kako on tvrdi, njemačkim sudovima takođe je bilo zabranjeno da izuzetno preuzmu jurisdikciju u skladu sa principom univerzalne jurisdikcije međunarodnog krivičnog prava koji je pohranjen u članu 6 stav 1 Krivičnog zakonika, pošto jurisdikcija sa tim principom nije bila međunarodno priznata u slučaju genocida.
Podnosilac predstavke naročito je istakao da, po članu VI Konvencije o genocidu, samo tribunal države na čijoj je teritoriji počinjeno djelo ili međunarodni tribunal imaju jurisdikciju da sude licu koje je optuženo za genocid. Taj član stoga odražava dužnost nemiješanja koja proističe iz principa suvereniteta i ravnopravnosti svih država i zabrane zloupotrebe prava, što su opšta pravila međunarodnog javnog prava. On je priznao da princip univerzalne nadležnosti, kako ga priznaje običajno međunarodno javno pravo može, teoretski, prenijeti jurisdikciju na domaći sud i ako to nije sud naveden u članu VI Konvencije o genocide. Međutim, on je ustvrdio da jurisdikcija u skladu sa tim principom, pošto je izuzetak od pravila nemiješanja, nije priznata ni međunarodnim ugovornim pravom niti međunarodnim običajnim pravom za svrhe suđenja licima optuženim za genocid. Njemački sudovi stoga su proizvoljno preuzeli tu nadležnost.
(b) Vlada
U podnescima koje je predala Vlada, njemački sudovi su bili “nadležni sud(ovi)” u smislu člana 5 stav 1 (a) Konvencije da osude podnosioca predstavke i “tribunal(i) uspostavljeni po zakonu” u smislu člana 6 stav 1 Konvencije. Njemačko krivično pravo bilo je primjenjivo na činjenice predmeta tako da, po njemačkom pravu, njemački sudovi imaju jurisdikciju za krivična djela za koja je bio optužen podnosilac predstavke. Oni su bili nadležni po članu 6 br. 1 Krivičnog zakonika (u svojoj verziji koja je tada bila na snazi). Takođe je postojala legitimna veza između krivičnog gonjenja krivičnih djela za koja je bio optužen podnosilac predstavke i same Njemačke, što smatraju neophodnim njemački sudovi povrh formulacije iz člana 6 br. 1 Krivičnog zakonika da bi se ustanovila nadležnost, pa se i tako poštuje princip nemiješanja. Podnosilac predstavke živio je u Njemačkoj dugi niz godina i uhapšen je na teritoriji Njemačke. Štaviše, Njemačka je učestvovala u vojnim i humanitarnim misijama u Bosni i Hercegovini. Uz to su ispunjeni i uslovi propisani članom 7 stav 2 br. 2 Kivičnog zakonika, kojima se ugrađuje princip zastupanja, pošto ni MKSBJ ni krivični sudovi u mjestu zločina u Bosni i Hercegovini nisu tražili izručenje podnosioca predstavke.
Vlada je dalje zauzela stav da su odredbe njemačkog prava o nadležnosti u skladu sa principima međunarodnog javnog prava. Konkretno, kao što su uvjerljivo pokazali njemački sudovi, član VI Konvencije o genocidu, koji predviđa minimalne uslove za dužnost da se krivično goni za genocid, ne zabranjuju da za genocid krivično goni tribunal države koja nije država na čijoj je teritoriji djelo počinjeno.
Štaviše, princip univerzalne jurisdikcije kako je prepoznat u običajnom međunarodnom javnom pravu, daje ovlašćenje svim državama da ustanove jurisdikciju nad zločinima protiv međunarodnog prava, kao što su djela genocida, koji su usmjereni protiv interesa međunarodne zajednice kao cjeline, bez obzira na to gdje ili ko ih je počinio. Slično tome, nadležnost po principu zastupanja kako je predviđeno u članu 7 stav br. 2 Krivičnog zakonika nije bila u suprotnosti sa međunarodnim pravom. Njemački sudovi stoga su bili ovlašćeni da sude u predmetu podnosioca predstavke.
Vlada je navela da zakoni i sudska praksa brojnih drugih Strana ugovornica Konvencije, te sudska praksa MKSBJ izričito dopuštaju krivično gonjenje genocida u skladu sa principom univerzalne jurisdikcije.
2. Ocjena Suda
(a) Relevantni principi
Sud nalazi da predmet primarno mora da se ispita po članu 6 stav 1 Konvencije po stavki da li je podnosilac predstavke bio saslušan od strane “suda obrazovanog po osnovu zakona”. Sud ponavlja da ovaj izraz odražava princip vladavine prava, koji je svojstven sistemu zaštite ustanovljene Konvencijom i Protokolima uz nju. “Zakon” u smislu člana 6 stav 1, obuhvata naročito zakone o uspostavljanju i nadležnostima sudskih organa (v. između ostalog, Lavents protiv Letonije, br. 58442/00, stav 114, 28. novembar 2002. godine). Shodno tome, ako neki sud nema nadležnost da sudi optuženome u skladu sa odredbama koje su primjenjive po domaćem pravu, on nije “obrazovan po osnovu zakona” u smislu člana 6 stav 1 (uporediti Coëme i ostali protiv Belgije, br. 32492/96, 32547/96, 32548/96, 33209/96 i 33210/96, stavovi 99 i 107-08, ECHR 2000-VII).
Sud dalje ističe da, u principu, povreda navedenih domaćih odredbi zakona o osnivanju i nadležnosti sudskih organa od strane nekog tribunala pokreće pitanje povrede čana 6 stav 1. Sud je stoga nadležan da ispita da li je poštovano domaće pravo u ovom smislu. Međutim, kada se uzme u obzir opšti princip po kome je na prvom mjestu na samim domaćim sudovima da tumače odredbe domaćeg prava, Sud nalazi da on ne smije da ispituje njihovo tumačenje osim ako je došlo do flagrantnog kršenja domaćeg prava (v. mutatis mutandis, Coëme i ostali, citirano ranije u tekstu ove presude, stav 98 in fine, i Lavents, citirano ranije u tekstu ove presude, stav 114). U tom smislu Sud takođe ističe da član 6 ne daje optuženome pravo da bira jurisdikciju nekog suda. Zadatak suda je stoga ograničen na to da ispita da li su postojali razumni osnovi da vlasti utvrde nadležnost (v. između ostalog, G. protiv Švajcarske, br. 16875/90, Odluka Komisije od 10. Oktobra 1999. godine, bez izvještaja i Kübli protiv Švajcarske, br. 17495/90, Odluka Komisije od 2. decembra 1992. godine, bez izvještaja).
(b) Primjena principa na ovaj konkretan predmet
Sud napominje da su njemački sudovi bazirali svoju jurisdikciju na članu 6 br. 1 Krivičnog zakonika u vezi sa članom 220a toga Zakonika (u verziji koja je tada bila na snazi). Ove odredbe predviđale su da je nadležno njemačko krivično pravo i da, zbog toga, njemački sudovi imaju jurisdikciju da sude licu opštuženom za genocid počinjen u inostranstvu bez obzira na to koje su državljanstvo imali optuženi i žrtve. Domaći sudovi su stoga ustanovili jurisdikciju u skladu sa jasnom formulacijom odgovarajućih odredbi Krivičnog zakonika.
Donoseći odluku o tome da li njemački sudovi imaju jurisdikciju po materijalnim odredbama domaćeg prava, Sud mora dalje da utvrdi da li je odluka domaćih sudova da oni imaju jurisdikciju u predmetu podnosioca predstavke bila u skladu sa odredbama međunarodnog javnog prava koje se primjenjuju u Njemačkoj. Sud konstatuje da su domaći sudovi našli da princip univerzalne jurisdikcije iz međunarodnog javnog prava, koji je kodifikovan u članu 6 br. 1 Krivičnog zakonika, utvrđuje njihovu jurisdikciju, a u isto vrijeme se poštuje i dužnost nemiješanja koja postoji po međunarodnom javnom pravu. Po mišljenju domaćih sudova, njihova nadležnost po principu univerzalne jurisdikcije nije bila isključena formulacijom člana VI Konvencije o genocidu, pošto taj član treba razumijeti tako da on utvrđuje dužnost sudova koji se u njemu navode da sude licima osumnjičenim za genocid, a da u isto vrijeme ne zabranjuje krivično gonjenje od strane drugih domaćih sudova.
U utvrđivanju da li su domaći sudovi razumno tumačili primjenjiva pravila i odredbe međunarodnog javnog prava o nadležnosti, Sud je naročito pokušao da ispita njihovo tumačenje člana VI Konvencije o genocidu. Sud zapaža, kako su takođe naveli i domaći sudovi (v. naročito stav 20 ove presude), da se Strane ugovornice Konvencije o genocidu, uprkos prijedlozima u ranijim nacrtima koji su imali taj rezultat, nisu sporazumjele da u tom članu kodifikuju princip univerzalne jurisdikcije za genocid za domaće sudove svih Strana ugovornica (uporedi stavove 20 i 54 ove presude). Međutim, po članu I Konvencije o genocidu, Strane ugovornice imale su erga omens obavezu da spriječe i kazne genocid, čija zabrana čini dio jus cogens. U tom svjetlu, mora se razumnim (i sasvim ubjedljivim) smatrati razmišljanje domaćih sudova da svrha Konvencije o genocidu, koja je naročito izražena u tom članu, ne isključuje nadležnost za kažnjavanje genocida od strane država čiji zakoni ustanovljavaju ekstrateritorijalnost u tom smislu. Pošto se tako došlo do razumnog i nedvosmislenog tumačenja člana VI Konvencije o genocidu u skladu sa ciljem te Konvencije, nije bilo potrebe u tumačenju navedene Konvencije pribjegavati pripremnim dokumentima koji igraju samo supsidijarnu ulogu u tumačenju međunarodnog javnog prava (v. članove 31 stav 1 i 32 Bečke konvencije o ugovornom pravu od 23. maja 1969. godine).
Sud zapaža u vezi sa tim da tumačenje člana VI Konvencije o genocidu koje su imali njemački sudovi u svjetlu člana I te Konvencije i ustanovljavanje jurisdikcije da se sudi podnosiocu predstavke po optužbama za genocid ima široku potvrdu u zakonskim odredbama i sudskoj praksi brojnih drugih Strana ugovornica Konvencije (za zaštitu ljudskih prava i osnovnih sloboda) i u Statutut i sudskoj praksi MKSBJ. Sud primjećuje, naročito da je španski Audiencia Nacional tumačio član VI Konvencije o genocidu na potpuno isti način kao njemački sudovi (v. stav 54 ove presude). Nadalje, član 9 stav 1 Statuta MKSBJ potvrđuje stav njemačkih sudova, predviđajući zajedničku jurisdikciju MKSBJ i domaćih sudova, bez ograničenja na domaće sudove nekih konkretnih zemalja. Zaista, princip univerzalne jurisdikcije za genocid izričito je prepoznao MKSBJ (v. stavove 50-51 ove presude) i brojne ugovornice Konvencije ovlašćuju krivično gonjenje za genocid u skladu sa tim principom, ili barem kada su, kako je slučaj sa podnosiocem predstavke, ispunjeni dodatni uslovi – kao što su uslovi propisani principom zastupanja (v. stavove 52-53 ove Presude).
Sud zaključuje da tumačenje primjenjivih odredbi i pravila međunarodnog javnog prava od strane njemačkih sudova, u svjetlu kojih se moraju tumačiti odredbe Krivičnog zakonika, nije bilo proizvoljno. Oni su stoga imali razumne osnove za ustanovljavanje svoje jurisdikcije da sude podnosiocu predstavke po optužnici za genocid.
Slijedi da je predmet podnosioca predstavke bio razmatran od strane suda obrazovanog po osnovu zakona u smislu člana 6 stav 1 Konvencije. Stoga nije bilo povrede te odredbe.
S obzirom na gore nevedeni nalaz po članu 6 stav 1, naime, da su njemački sudovi razumno preuzeli jurisdikciju da sude podnosiocu predstavke po optužnici za genocid, Sud zaključuje da je podnosilac predstavke bio zakonito pritvoren nakon osuđujuće presude “nadležnog suda” u smislu člana 5 stav 1 (a) Konvecije. Shodno tome, nije bilo povrede ni tog člana.
II. NAVODNA POVREDA ČLANA 6 STAVA 1 I STAVA 3 (d) KONVENCIJE
“1. Svako, tokom odlučivanja o ... krivičnoj optužbi protiv njega, ima pravo na pravičnu ... raspravu ... pred... sudom ...
3. Svako ko je optužen za krivično djelo ima sljedeća minimalna prava:
...
(d) da ispituje svjedoke protiv sebe ili da postigne da se oni ispitaju i da se obezbijedi prisustvo i saslušanje svjedoka u njegovu korist pod istim uslovima koji važe za one koji svjedoče protiv njega;”
74. Vlada je osporila taj argument.
A. Podnesci strana
1. Vlada
Prema tvrdnjama Vlade, podnosilac predstavke nije iscrpio domaće pravne lijekove kada je riječ o njegovom prigovoru na odbijanje Apelacionog suda da pozove dvadeset i osam svjedoka u postupku pred Saveznim sudom pravde na osnovu toga da on nije dovoljno potkrijepio svoje pritužbe. Vlada je dalje navela da podnosilac predstavke nije ni na koji način pomenuo svoju pritužbu na odbijanje Apelacionog suda da ispita navodno mjesto zločina u Grabskoj u postupku pred Saveznim sudom pravde i da zbog toga takođe nije iscrpio domaće pravne lijekove u vezi sa tim.
Vlada je dalje navela da podnosilac predstavke nije više mogao da tvrdi da je žrtva povrede konvencijskih prava i da je njegova predstavka nekompatibilna ratione personae sa Konvencijom u mjeri u kojoj se njegove pritužbe odnose na zahtjeve da se uzmu svjedoci za optužbe za ubistvo dvadeset i dvoje ljudi u Grabskoj. Vlada je navela da je krivični postupak za ova krivična djela bio ponovno otvoren i prekinut.
Vlada je iznijela argument da u svakom slučaju pravo podnosioca predstavke na pravično suđenje po članu 6 Konvencije nije bilo povrijeđeno. Apelacioni sud je uzeo dokaze u skladu sa onim što je propisano tom odredbom. Po članu 244 Zakonika o krivičnom postupku konkretno, ista pravila za uzimanje dokaza primjenjuju se i na stranu tužioca i na stranu odbrane. Po njemačkom Zakoniku o krivičnom postupku, sami krivični sudovi treba da istraže istinitost na svoju inicijativu. Čak i ako istrage krivičnih djela počinjenih u inostranstvu pokreću značajne procesne probleme, optuženi su bili zaštićeni pravilima o krivičnom postupku i time što imaju benefit sumnje, tj. da se prihvata da nisu krivi ukoliko krivica ne može da se dokaže.
Po mišljenju Vlade, Apelacioni sud nije djelovao proizvoljno kada je odbio zahtjeve podnosioca predstavke da se proizvedu dalji dokazi. Ovaj sud propisno je ispitao zahtjeve pdnocioca predstavke i dao objektivno opravdane razloge zbog kojih ih je odbio. Njegov zaključak po članu 244 stav 5 Zakonika o krivičnom postupku da sudsko pozivanje svjedoka koje je naveo podnosilac predstavke nije nužno u okolnostima predmeta za utvrđivanje istine ne pokazuje da je postojala bilo kakva greška u zakonu, a Apelacioni sud je izložio sve razloge za svoje odluke.
2. Podnosilac predstavke
Podnosilac predstavke osporio je stav Vlade. On je naglasio da Savezni ustavni sud nije odbio njegovu pritužbu zbog toga što nije iscrpio domaće pravne lijekove i konstatovao je da on nije izgubio svoj status žrtve povrede člana 6 Konvencije.
Podnosilac predstavke žalio se da su član 6 stav 1 i stav 3 (d) Konvencije povrijeđeni pošto je po članu 244 stav 5, druga rečenica, Zakonika o krivičnom postupku, Apelacioni sud odbio da pozove dvadeset i osam svjedoka odbrane koje je on naveo koji bi morali da se pozovu iz inostranstva, a u isto vrijeme je pozvao i ispitao šest svjedoka koje je naveo tužilac koji su bili pozvani iz inostranstva. On je konstatovao da bi u okolnostima njegovog predmeta, Apelacionom sudu, da je na pravi način koristio svoja diskreciona ovlašćenja, bilo zabranjeno da primijeni član 244 stav 5 Zakonika o krivičnom postupku. Navedena odredba predviđa preduslove za odbijanje da se pozove svjedok koji mora da se pozove iz inostranstva, koji su manje strogi od onih koji se primjenjuju za obijanje da se pozove svjedok koji živi u Njemačkoj. Ova odredba bazira se na pretpostavci da za krivična suđenja u Njemačkoj dokazi uglavnom mogu da se dobiju u Njemačkoj. Međutim, u njegovom predmetu, koji se tiče djela navodno počinjenih u Bosni i Hercegovini, svjedoci po pravilu žive u inostranstvu. Primjena člana 244 stav 5 Zakonika o krivičnom postupku zbog toga je bila proizvoljna. Da je Apelacioni sud pozvao navedene svjedoke, odmah bi utvrdio da svjedok tužioca za navodna krivična djela u Grabskoj nije rekao istinu.
B. Ocjena Suda
1. Opšti principi
Sud ističe da, po opštem pravilu, domaći sudovi treba da ocjenjuju dokaze koji se pred njih iznesu, kao i relevantnost dokaza koje želi iznijeti odbrana. Konkretnije, član 6 stav 3 (d) – koji predviđa posebne aspekte opšteg koncepta pravičnog suđenja izložene u članu 6 stav 1 – njima u principu prepušta da ocjenjuju konkretno da li je prikladno da se pozovu određeni svjedoci. To ne iziskuje prisustvo i ispitivanje svakog svjedoka u ime optuženog. Međutim, zadatak je Suda da utvrdi da li se uzimanjem i ocjenom dokaza povrijedio princip pune “ravnopravnosti pred zakonom”, čime bi se cijeli postupak učinio nepravičnim (v. između ostalog, Vidal protiv Belgije, 22. april 1992, stav 33, Serija A br. 235-B, i Heidegger protiv Austrije (dec.), br. 27077/95, 5. oktobar 1999. godine).
U predmetima koji su pokrenuti pojedinačnim predstavkama nije zadatak Suda da ispituje domaće zakone apstraktno gledano, već mora da ispita način na koji su ti zakoni i drugi propisi bili primijenjeni na podnosioca predstavke u konkretnim okolnostima (v. između ostalog, Sahin protiv Njemačke [GC], br. 30943/96, stav 87, ECHR 2003-VIII, i Sommerfeld protiv Njemačke [GC], br. 31871/96, stav 86, ECHR 2003VIII).
2. Primjena tih principa na ovaj konkretni predmet
Sud stoga mora da utvrdi da li je primjena člana 244 Krivičnog zakonika od strane domaćih sudova i njihovo odbijanje da pozovu određene svjedoke, pregledaju mjesto navodnog zločina ili nalože izradu topografske mape koje je proteklo iz toga učinilo čitav postupak nepravičnim.
Sud na samom početku zapaža da strane ne spore da se član 244 Krivičnog zakonika primjenjuje na sve zahtjeve da se pozovu svjedoci ili da se dobiju drugi dokazi, bez obzira na to da li ih preda tužilac ili odbrana. U predmetima kao što je ovaj, u kojima je zločin počinjen van Njemačke i u kojima će se, po pravilu, pokazati nužno da se dobiju dokazi iz inostranstva, njegova primjena nije stoga generalno favorizovala zahtjeve da se uzmu dokazi koje je predao tužilac. Štaviše, tačno je da član 244 stav 5, druga rečenica Zakonika o krivičnom postupku predviđa posebne uslove za odbacivanje zahtjeva da se ispita svjedok – bilo tužioca ili odbrane – koji bi morao da se pozove iz inostranstva. Ti uslovi su zaista manje strogi od uslova za odbacivanje zahtjeva za uzimanje dokaza od svjedoka koji se mogu pozvati iz nekog mjesta u Njemačkoj. Međutim, ovi svjedoci ne tretiraju se automatski kao dokazi koji se ne mogu dobiti. Sudovi koji vrše preliminarnu procjenu dokaza koji su pred njih izneseni mogu, međutim, zaključiti da ispitivanje takvog svjedoka nije nužno za utvrđivanje istine (v. stav 39 ove presude).
Sud dalje zapaža da je Apelacioni sud, djelujući kao prvostepeni, odbio da pozove bilo kojeg od dvadeset i osam svjedoka koji žive u Bosni, a koje je naveo podnosilac predstavke, dok je sudski pozvao šest svjedoka tužilaštva iz inostranstva. Međutim, ova činjenica kao takva ne vodi nužno do zaključka da se nisu poštovali princip jednakosti pred zakonom ili pravo podnosioca predstavke da dobije prisustvo svjedoka i da je zbog toga cjelokupan postupak nepravičan. U tom smislu, Sud zapaža naročito da je Apelacioni sud, dajući detaljna obrazloženja zašto je odbio da uzima dalje dokaze, razmotrio pisane izjave najmanje sedam od navedenih dvadeset i osam svjedoka da bi se dokazala ista činjenica (naime da je podnosilac bio u pritvoru u vrijeme krivičnog djela) prije nego što je zaključio da bi svjedočenje svih dvadeset i osam svjedoka bilo od male dokazne vrijednosti i nerelvantno za odlučivanje u predmetu. Sud primjećuje da je Apelacioni sud, kada je odbio zahtjev podnosioca predstavke da pozove ove svjedoke već bio čuo svjedočenja više od dvadeset svjedoka, uključujući i svjedočenja dva novinara koja nisu bila pogođena krivičnim djelima za koja je optužen podnosilac predstavke (i mogli su stoga, po pravilu, da se smatraju naročitno kredibilnima). Ti svjedoci, koje je podnosilac predstavke mogao unakrsno da ispituje, svi su izjavili da su vidjeli podnosioca predstavke van zatvora u periodu za koji je on tvrdio da je bio pritvoren. U ovim okolnostima, Sud ne može da nađe da su domaći sudovi postupili proizvoljno kada su odlučili da nisu relevantna svjedočenja svjedoka koje je naveo podnosilac predstavke da bi dokazao da je bio pritvoren u vrijeme kada je počinjeno krivično djelo. Stoga Sud nalazi da ne postoje indikacije da je postupak protiv podnosioca predstavke bio u cjelini nepravičan.
Što se tiče pritužbe podnosioca predstavke na odbijanje Apelacionog suda da pregleda navodno mjesto zločina u Grabskoj ili da naloži da se izradi topografska karta da bi se dokazalo da argumenti svjedoka o navodnim djelima nisu vjerodostojni, Sud nalazi da je Apelacioni sud dao validne razloge za svoju odluku da smatra da se ovi dokazi ne mogu dobiti. S obzirom na činjenicu da je Apelacioni sud imao video snimak relevantnog lokaliteta i da je podnosilac predstavke mogao da ispituje konkluzivnost dokaza koji su uzeti u vezi sa djelima o kojima je riječ, Sud nalazi da nema indikacija da je činjenica što nije uzeo dodatne dokaze nespojiva sa članom 6 stav 1 i stav 3.
Slijedi da se pritužbe podnosioca predstavke po članu 6 stav 1 i stav 3 (d) Konvencije moraju odbaciti kao očigledno neosnovane, u skladu sa članom 35 stav 3 i stav 4 Konvencije.
III. NAVODNA POVREDA ČLANA 7 KONVENCIJE
“Niko se ne može smatrati krivim za krivično djelo izvršeno činjenjem ili nečinjenjem koje, u vrijeme kada je izvršeno nije predstavljalo krivično djelo po unutrašnjem ili međunarodnom pravu. Isto tako, ne može se izreći strožija kazna od one koja je bila propisana u vrijeme kada je krivično djelo izvršeno.”
90. Vlada je osporila ovaj argument.
A. Prihvatljivost
B. Meritum
1. Podnesci strana
(a) Podnosilac predstavke
Podnosilac predstavke naveo je da je osuđujuća presuda za genocid po članu 220a Krivičnog zakonika iziskivala dokaz da je počinilac djelovao sa namjerom da uništi, u cijelosti ili dijelom, nacionalnu, rasnu, etničku ili vjersku grupu kao takvu. On je konstatovao da, s obzirom na doslovno značenje izraza “uništiti”, sami napad na uslove života ili osnovu opstanka kao grupe, kao u ovom predmetu, nije predstavljao uništenje same grupe. “Etničko čišćenje” koje su vršili bosanski Srbi u području Doboja imalo je za cilj samo da sve Muslimane silom otjera iz tog kraja, odnosno da protjera tu grupu, a ne da uništi samo njeno postojanje. Stoga se ne može smatrati genocidom u smislu člana 220a Krivičnog zakonika.
Nadalje, po navodima podnosioca predstavke, tumačenje izraza “namjera da se uništi” iz člana 220a, koji je uključen u Krivični zakonik da bi se u domaće pravo inkorporirala Konvencija o genocide, koje su dali njemački sudovi, suprotno je tumačenju istog pojma u članu II Konvencije o genocidu usvojene od strane zajednice država. Zapravo, prema međunarodno prihvaćenoj doktrini, genocid se odnosi samo na slučajeve u kojima se ubistvo, istrebljenje ili deportacija vrše sa namjerom da se ukloni usko definisana grupa, odnosno, da se ona uništi u biološko-fizičkom smislu, ne samo kao društvena jedinica. Etničko čišćenje u bivšoj Jugoslaviji ne može da se uporedi sa istrebljenjem Jevreja koje je počinio nacistički režim, koje je bilo razlog da se osmisli Konvencija o genocidu.
Podnosilac predstavke tvrdio je da stoga za njega nije bilo moguće predvidjeti u vrijeme počinjavanja njegovog djela da bi ih njemački sudovi definisali kao genocid po njemačkom ili međunarodnom javnom pravu.
Slično tome, po mišljenju podnosioca predstavke, nalaz njemačkih sudova da je njegova krivica naročite težine predstavlja povredu člana 7 stav 1 Konvencije u tome što sudovi nisu uzeli u razmatranje da je on odigrao samo malu ulogu u navodnom genocidu u Bosni.
(b) Vlada
Po mišljenju Vlade, tumačenjem pojma “genocid” koje su dali njemački sudovi ne krši se član 7 stav 1 Konvencije. Formulacija krivičnog djela genocida u članu 220a njemačkog Krivičnog zakonika dozvoljava tumačenje pojma genocid kao pojma koji obuhvata djela počinjena sa namjerom da se uništi neka grupa kao društvena jedinica. Konkretno, namjera da se uništi mora biti usmjerena protiv “grupe kao takve”, što ukazuje na to da se ne štiti samo fizičko, već i društveno postojanje grupe. Štaviše, definicija genocida predviđena članom 220a stav 1 br. 4 (uvođenje mjera koje imaju za cilj da spriječe rođenja u grupi) i član 5 (nasilno prebacivanje djece jedne grupe u drugu) takođe ne sadrži u sebi fizičko uništenje živih članova dotične grupe.
Iz istog razloga, formulacija člana II Konvencije o genocidu, koja odgovara članu 220a Krivičnog zakonika, ne ograničava djelo genocida na fizičko-biološko uništenje grupe grupe o kojoj je riječ. To su potvrdili brojni naučnici i Generalna skupština Ujedinjenih nacija, koja je protumačila Konvenciju o genocidu tako da obuhvata zaštitu grupe kao društvene jedinice (v. stav 41 ove presude).
Pošto je tumačenje krivičnog djela genocida koje su dali njemački sudovi bilo u skladu sa formulacijom člana 220a Krivičnog zakonika, tumačenje domaćih sudova bilo je predvidivo u vrijeme kada je podnosilac predstavke 1992. godine počinio zločin o kome je riječ. Štaviše, njemački naučnici zauzeli su stav da krivična odgovornost za genocid ima za cilj i da zaštiti društveno postojanje grupe (v. stav 36 ove presude).
Vlada je priznala da je u svojoj presudi od 2. avgusta 2001. godine u predmetu Tužilac protiv Krstića, sudsko vijeće MKSBJ, a to je potvrđeno i po žalbi, izričito odbacilo tumačenje pojma “namjera da se uništi” koju je dao Savezni ustavni sud u svojoj presudi u ovom predmetu. Pozivajući se na princip nullum crimen sine lege, MKSBJ je prvi put ustvrdio da je krivično djelo apo međunarodnom javnom pravu ograničeno na djela koja imaju za cilj fizičko ili biološko uništenje neke grupe. Međutim, ovo uže tumačenje područja zločina genocida od strane MKSBJ 2001. godine koje, po mišljenju Vlade nije bilo ubjedljivo, nije dovelo u pitanje činjenicu da je podnosilac predstavke mogao da predvidi, kada je počinio djela 1992. godine, da bi se ona definisala kao genocid. U svakom slučaju njemački sudovi nisu etničko čišćenje generalno smatrali genocidom, ali su utvrdili da je podnosilac predstavke, u okolnostima predmeta, kriv za genocid pošto je imao namjeru da uništi grupu kao društvenu jedinicu, a ne samo da je protjera.
2. Ocjena Suda
(a) Opšti principi
Sud ponavlja da garancija pohranjena u članu 7 Konvencije predstavlja suštinski element vladavine prava. Ona nije ograničena na zabranu retroaktivne primjene krivičnog prava na štetu optuženog. Ona takođe otjelovljuje, generalnije gledano, princip da samo zakon može da definiše krivično djelo i propiše kaznu (nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege) i princip da krivično pravo ne smije da se široko tumači na štetu optuženog, na primjer putem analogije. Iz ovih principa slijedi da krivično djelo mora biti jasno definisano u zakonu. Taj uslov je ispunjen kada pojedinac može iz formulacije relevantne odredbe i, ako treba, uz pomoć tumačenja te odredbe koju ponudi sud, da zna koja činjenja ili nečinjenja će ga učiniti krivično odgovornim. Kada govori o “pravu”, član 7 aludira na sami taj koncept kao na nešto na što se Konvencija poziva i na drugim mjestima kada koristi taj izraz, koncept koji obuhvata pisano i nepisano pravo i implicira kvalitativne uslove, naročito uslove prihvatljivosti i predvidivosti (v. između ostalog S.W. protiv Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva, 22. novembar 1995, stavovi 34-35, Serija A br. 335-B; C.R. protiv Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva, 22. novembar 1995, stavovi 32-33, Serija A br. 335-C; i Streletz, Kessler i Krenz protiv Njemačke [GC], br. 34044/96, 35532/97 i 44801/98, stav 50, ECHR 2001-II).
U svakom sistemu prava, uključujući i krivično pravo, bez obzira na to koliko je jasno napisana pravna odredba, postoji neizbježan element sudskog tumačenja. Uvijek će postojati potreba da se stvari oko kojih postoje sumnje pojasne i da se vrši prilagođavanje okolnostima koje se mjenjaju. I zaista, u državama potpisnicima Konvencije, progresivan razvoj krivičnog prava kroz sudsku praksu čvrsto je ukorijenjen i neophodan dio pravne tradicije. Član 7 Konvencije ne može se čitati kao da zabranjuje postepeno pojašnjavanje pravila krivične odgovornosti kroz sudsko tumačenje od predmeta do predmeta, uz uslov da razvoj koji nastaje kao rezultat bude dosljedan sa postojanjem krivičnog djela i da se može razumno predvidjeti (v, između ostalog, S.W. protiv Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva, citirano ranije u tekstu ove presude, stav 36; C.R. protiv Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva, citirano ranije u tekstu ove presude, stav 34; Streletz, Kessler i Krenz, citirano ranije u tekstu ove presude, stav 50; i K.-H.W. protiv Njemačke [GC], br. 37201/97, stav 45, ECHR 2001-II).
Što se tiče tumačenja i primjene domaćeg prava, Sud ponavlja da je prvenstveno zadatak domaćih vlasti, naročito sudova, da tumače i primjenjuju domaće pravo (v. mutatis mutandis, Kopp protiv Švajcarske, 25. mart 1998, stav 59, Izvještaji o presudama i odlukama 1998-II, i Streletz, Kessler i Krenz, citirano ranije u tekstu ove presude, stav 49). Iako je dužnost Suda, po članu 19 Konvencije, da obezbijede poštovanje obaveza koje su preuzele Strane ugovornice Konvencije, nije funkcija Suda da se bavi greškama u činjenicama ili pravu koje su navodno napravili domaći sudovi ukoliko nisu i samo u mjeri u kojoj su oni povrijedili prava i slobode zaštićene Konvencijom (v. mutatis mutandis, Schenk protiv Švajcarske, 12. jul 1988. godine, stav 45, Serija A br. 140, i Streletz, Kessler i Krenz, citirano ranije u tekstu ove presude, stav 49).
(b) Primjena principa na ovaj predmet
U svjetlu gore navedenih principa, Sud stoga treba da odluči da li je tumačenje zločina genocida po njemačkom pravu koje su dali domaći sudovi, a naročito genocidne “namjere da se uništi”, tako da obuhvata djela podnosioca predstavke počinjena u toku etničkog čišćenja u Bosni i Hercegovini bilo dosljedno sa suštinom tog djela i da li ga je razumno mogao predvidjeti podnosilac predstavke u relevantno vrijeme.
Prije svega, u utvrđivanju da li je tumačenje njemačkih sudova bilo konzistentno sa suštinom djela genocida, Sud zapaža da domaći sudovi nisu usko tumačili obim tog djela. Oni su smatrali da “namjera da se uništi” grupa u smislu člana 220a Krivičnog zakonika, kako se tumači i u svjetlu člana II Konvencije o genocidu, nije iziskivala namjeru da se uništi grupa u fizičkom ili biološkom smislu. Bilo je dovoljno da počinilac ima za cilj da uništi grupu o kojoj je riječ kao društvenu jedinicu.
Sud konstatuje da su domaći sudovi tumačili “namjeru da se uništi grupa kao takva” sistematično u kontekstu člana 220a stav 1 Krivičnog zakonika kao cjeline, uzevši u obzir naročito alternative te odredbe izražene u br. 4 (uvođenje mjera koje imaju za cilj da spriječe rođenje unutar grupe) i br. 5 (prisilno prebacivanje djece iz jedne grupe u drugu), koje ne podrazumijevaju fizičko uništenje živućih pripadnika predmetne grupe. Sud nalazi da tumačenje domaćih sudova po kome “namjera da se uništi grupa” ne iziskuje fizičko uništenje grupe, a koje je usvojeno takođe i od niza naučnika (v. stav 36 i 47 ove presude) jeste stoga obuhvaćeno formulacijom krivičnog djela genocida u Krivičnom zakoniku kada se on čita u ovom kontekstu i da ne izgleda nerazumno.
Nadalje, Sud, kao i domaći sudovi, smatra da je za utvrđivanje suštine krivičnog djela genocide neophodno da se uzme u razmatranje i kodifikacija zabrane genocida u članu II Konvencije o genocidu, zbog čijeg je poštovanja član 220a i unesen u Krivični zakonik i u svjetlu kojega treba da se tumači navedeni član. Pošto formulacija člana 220a Krivičnog zakonika odgovara formulaciji člana II Konvencije o genocidu, bar što se tiče definicije genocida, gore navedeno obrazloženje o obimu zabrane genocida jednako se primjenjuje i na nju.
Štaviše, tumačenje njemačkih sudova ne samo da su podržali brojni naučnici u relevantno vrijeme kada je zločin počinjen (v. stav 36 ove presude), već se i Generalna skupština Ujedinjenih nacija u svojoj Rezoluciji 47/121 od 18 decembra 1992. godine saglasila sa širim tumačenjem koje su usvojili njemački sudovi u ovom predmetu (v. stav 41 ove presude).
Kao posljedica toga, djela podnosioca predstavke, koja je počinio tokom etničkog čišćenja u području Doboja sa namjerom da uništi grupu Muslimana kao društvenu jedinicu, mogu se razumno smatrati djelima koja spadaju u obim krivičnog djela genocida.
Drugo, u odlučivanju da li je tumačenje krivičnog djela genocid koje su dali njemački sudovi mogao, razumno gledano, da predvidi podnosilac predstavke u predmetno vrijeme, Sud zapaža da je podnosilac predstavke prva osoba koju su njemački sudovi osudili za genocid po članu 220a od kada je 1995. godine taj član ugrađen u Krivični zakonik. U tim okolnostima Sud nalazi da, za razliku od predmeta koji se odnose na promjenu ranije postojeće sudske prakse, tumačenje obima ovog krivičnog djela, koje je – u ovom predmetu – konzistentno sa suštinom tog krivičnog djela, mora, po pravilu, da se smatra predvidivim. Uprkos tome, Sud ne isključuje da, u izuzetnim slučajevima, podnosilac predstavke može da se pozove na neko konkretno tumačenje odredbi koje su dali domaći sudovi u posebnim okolnostima predmeta.
U ovom konkretnom predmetu, koji se odnosi na tumačenje odredbi koje proizlaze iz međunarodnog javnog prava, a koje su dali domaći sudovi, Sud nalazi da je neophodno, da bi se obezbijedilo da zaštita koja se garantuje članom 7 stav 1 Konvencije i dalje bude djelotvorna, da se ispita da li su postojale neke posebne okolnosti koje bi garantovale zaključak da je podnosilac predstavke, ako je potrebno nakon što je dobio pravni savjet, mogao da se osloni na uže tumačenje domaćih sudova obima krivičnog djela genocida, uzevši u obzir, naročito, tumačenje krivičnog djela genocida koje su dali drugi organi vlasti.
Sud konstatuje u vezi sa tim da su u predmetno vrijeme obim člana II Konvencije o genocidu, na kome se bazira član 220a Krivičnog zakonika, naučnici osporavali po pitanju definicije “namjere da se uništi grupa”. Dok je većina pravnih autora zauzela stav da etničko čišćenje, na način na koji su ga vršile srpske snage u Bosni i Hercegovini da bi protjerale Muslimane i Hrvate iz njihovih domova ne predstavlja genocid, ipak je značajan broj naučnika ukazao na to da ta djela zaista predstavljaju genocid (v. stav 47 ove presude).
Sud dalje zapaža da su – čak i nakon što je podnosilac predstavke počinio sporna djela – obim genocida na različite načine tumačile međunarodne vlasti. Tačno je da se MKSBJ, u svojoj presudi u predmetima Tužilac protiv Krstića i Tužilac protiv Kupreškića i drugih, izričito nije složio sa širokim tumačenjem “namjere da se uništi” koju su usvojili Generalna skupština Ujedinjenih nacija i njemački sudovi. Pozivajući se na princip nullum crimen sine lege, MKSBJ je izrazio mišljenje da genocid, po definiciji u međunarodnom javnom pravu, obuhvata samo djela koja imaju za cilj fizičko ili biološko uništenje zaštićene grupe. Međutim, kako su presude MKSBJ – kao i dalje odluke koje se odnose na ovaj predmet koje su donosili domaći i međunarodni sudovi, naročito Međunarodni sud pravde (v. stav 45 ove presude), u odnosu na njihove domaće ili međunarodne kodifikacije zločina genocida – bile donesene nakon što je podnosilac predstavke počinio djelo za koje se tereti, on nije mogao da se osloni na ovo tumačenje koje su dali njemački sudovi u odnosu na njemačko pravo u predmetno vrijeme, tj. kada je počinio djelo za koje se tereti.
U svjetlu gore navedenog, Sud zaključuje da, iako mnogi autoriteti daju prednost uskom tumačenju zločina genocida, već je u predmetno vrijeme bilo nekoliko autoriteta koji su tumačili zločin genocida na isti širi način kao i njemački sudovi. U ovim okolnostima, Sud nalazi da je podnosilac predstavke, ako je potrebno uz pomoć advokata, mogao razumno da predvidi da rizikuje da bude optužen i osuđen za genocid za djela koja je počinio 1992. godine. U tom kontekstu Sud takođe gleda i činjenicu da je podnosilac predstavke oglašen krivim za djela značajne težine i trajanja: ubijanje nekolicine ljudi i pritvaranje i zlostavljanje velikog broja ljudi u periodu od nekoliko mjeseci kao lider paravojne grupe sprovodeći politiku etničkog čišćenja.
Stoga tumačenje zločina genocide koje su dali domaći sudovi može razumno da se smatra konzistentnim suštini tog krivičnog djela i podnosilac predstavke mogao je razumno da ga predvidi u predmetno vrijeme. Pošto su ovi uslovi ispunjeni, njemački sudovi su bili ti koji je trebalo da odluče koje tumačenje zločina genocida po domaćem pravu oni žele da usvoje. Shodno tome osuđujućom presudom za genocid koja je izrečena podnosiocu predstavke nije povrijeđen član 7 stav 1 Konvencije
Što se tiče daljih pritužbi podnosioca predstavke po članu 7 stav 1 da su sudovi krivo našli da je njegova krivica naročite težine, Sud konstatuje da su argumenti podnosioca predstavke u ovom smislu ograničeni na navode činjeničnih i pravnih grešaka. Oni ne otkrivaju niti postojanje povrede navedene odredbe niti povredu člana 7 stav 1 Konvencije.
Shodno tome, Sud zaključuje da nije bilo povrede člana 7 stav 1 Konvencije.
IZ TIH RAZLOGA SUD JEDNOGLASNO
Proglašava pritužbu po članu 6 stav 1 i stav 3 (d) Konvencije, koja se odnosi na uzimanje dokaza od strane domaćih sudova, neprihvatljivom, a ostatak predstavke prihvatljivom;
Nalazi da nije bilo povrede člana 6 stav 1 niti člana 5 stav 1 Konvencije barem što se tiče pritužbe podnosioca predstavke da njemački sudovi nisu imali nadležnost da mu sude po optužbama za genocid
Nalazi da nije bilo povrede člana 7 Konvencije.
Sačinjeno na engleskom jeziku i dostavljeno u pisanoj formi 12. jula 2007. godine prema pravilu 77 stav 2 i stav 3 Poslovnika Suda
Claudia Westerdiek Peer Lorenzen
Sekretar Predsjednik
___________________________________
Prevod presude preuzet sa https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/
Ovaj prevod urađen je uz pomoć Fonda za ljudska prava Savjeta Evrope (www.coe.int/humanrightstrustfund)
FIFTH SECTION
CASE OF JORGIC v. GERMANY
(Application no. 74613/01)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
12 July 2007
FINAL
12/10/2007
In the case of Jorgic v. Germany, The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:
Peer Lorenzen, President,
Snejana Botoucharova,
Volodymyr Butkevych,
Margarita Tsatsa-Nikolovska,
Rait Maruste,
Javier Borrego Borrego,
Renate Jaeger, judges,
and Claudia Westerdiek, Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 19 June 2007,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
PROCEDURE
1. The case originated in an application (no. 74613/01) against the Federal Republic of Germany lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a national of Bosnia and Herzegovina, of Serb origin, Mr Nicola Jorgic (“the applicant”), on 23 May 2001.
2. The applicant was represented before the Court by Mr H. Grünbauer, a lawyer practising in Leipzig. The German Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mrs A. Wittling-Vogel, Ministerialdirigentin, of the Federal Ministry of Justice, assisted by Mr G. Werle, Professor of Law at Humboldt University in Berlin.
3. The applicant, relying on Article 5 § 1 (a) and Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, alleged that the German courts had not had jurisdiction to convict him of genocide. He further argued that, due, in particular, to the domestic courts’ refusal to call any witness for the defence who would have had to be summoned abroad, he had not had a fair trial within the meaning of Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (d) of the Convention. Moreover, he complained that his conviction for genocide was in breach of Article 7 § 1 of the Convention, in particular because the national courts’ wide interpretation of that crime had no basis in German or public international law.
4. On 7 July 2005 the Court decided to give notice of the application to the Government. On 2 October 2006 it decided to examine the merits of the application at the same time as its admissibility under the provisions of Article 29 § 3 of the Convention taken in conjunction with Rule 54A § 3 of the Rules of Court.
5. The Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina, having been informed of their right to intervene in the proceedings (Article 36 § 1 of the Convention and Rule 44) did not indicate that they wished to exercise that right.
THE FACTS
I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE
6. The applicant was born in 1946. When he lodged his application, he was detained in Bochum, Germany.
1. Background to the case
7. In 1969 the applicant, a national of Bosnia and Herzegovina of Serb origin, entered Germany, where he legally resided until the beginning of 1992. He then returned to Kostajnica, which forms part of the city of Doboj in Bosnia, where he was born.
8. On 16 December 1995 the applicant was arrested when entering Germany and placed in pre-trial detention on the ground that he was strongly suspected of having committed acts of genocide.
2. Proceedings in the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal
9. On 28 February 1997 the applicant’s trial, on the charge of having committed genocide in the Doboj region between May and September 1992, started before the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal (Oberlandesgericht) acting as a court of first instance.
10. In the course of the proceedings the Court of Appeal heard evidence from six witnesses called by the prosecution, who had to be summoned abroad.
11. On 18 June 1997 the applicant requested the Court of Appeal to call and hear evidence from eight witnesses from Kostajnica for the purpose of proving the fact that he had been placed in pre-trial detention in Doboj between 14 May and 15 August 1992 and could not therefore have committed the crimes he was accused of. On 10 July 1997 the applicant sought leave to summon another seventeen witnesses from Kostajnica to prove his allegation.
12. On 18 August 1997 the Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant’s requests to summon these witnesses. Relying on Article 244 § 5, second sentence, of the Code of Criminal Procedure (see paragraph 39 below), it considered the testimony of these witnesses to be of little evidential value. Seven of these witnesses had made written statements which had already been read out in court. Only one of them had actually claimed to have visited the applicant in prison. Having regard to the evidence already taken, the court could exclude the possibility that the testimony of the witnesses named by the applicant, if heard in person, might influence the court’s assessment of the evidence. It pointed out that more than twenty witnesses who had already been heard in court, including two journalists who had not been victims of the crimes the applicant was accused of, had seen the applicant in different places outside prison during the time he claimed to have been detained. The documents submitted by the applicant in relation to the beginning and end of his detention in Doboj did not warrant a different conclusion, as they had obviously been signed by a person whom the applicant knew well.
13. On 8 September 1997 the applicant requested the court to call three witnesses from Doboj in order to prove that he had been detained between 14 May and 15 August 1992. He also requested an inspection of the scene of the crime (Augenscheinseinnahme) in Grabska or, alternatively, that a topographical map be drawn up in order to prove that the witnesses’ statements concerning his purported acts in Grabska were untrustworthy.
14. On 12 September 1997 the Court of Appeal rejected the applicant’s requests. As regards the refusal to summon the three witnesses named, the court, again relying on Article 244 § 5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, found that the testimony of these witnesses would be of little evidential value. Having heard the evidence given by other witnesses, it was satisfied that the applicant had not been detained at the material time. It further considered an inspection of the scene of the crime or the drawing-up of a topographical map thereof to be unobtainable evidence (unerreichbare Beweismittel) within the meaning of Article 244 § 3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (see paragraph 38 below), which it therefore did not have to accept.
15. In its judgment of 26 September 1997, the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal convicted the applicant on eleven counts of genocide (Article 220a nos. 1 and 3 of the Criminal Code – see paragraph 34 below) and for the murder of twenty-two people in one case, seven people in another case, and one person in a third case. In the remaining cases, he was convicted on several counts of dangerous assault and deprivation of liberty. It sentenced the applicant to life imprisonment and stated that his guilt was of a particular gravity (see paragraph 37 below).
16. The court found that the applicant had set up a paramilitary group, with whom he had participated in the ethnic cleansing ordered by the Bosnian Serb political leaders and the Serb military in the Doboj region. He had in particular participated in the arrest, detention, assault and ill-treatment of male Muslims of three villages in Bosnia at the beginning of May and June 1992. He had killed several inhabitants of these villages. He had in particular shot twenty-two inhabitants of the village of Grabska – women and disabled and elderly people – in June 1992. Subsequently, the applicant, together with the paramilitary group he had led, had chased some forty men from their home village and had ordered them to be ill-treated and six of them to be shot. A seventh injured person had died from being burnt with the corpses of the six people shot. In September 1992 the applicant had killed a prisoner, who was being ill-treated by soldiers in the Doboj prison, with a wooden truncheon in order to demonstrate a new method of ill-treatment and killing.
17. The court stated that it had jurisdiction over the case pursuant to Article 6 no. 1 of the Criminal Code (see paragraph 34 below). There was a legitimate link for criminal prosecution in Germany, as this was in accordance with Germany’s military and humanitarian missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the applicant had resided in Germany for more than twenty years and had been arrested there. Furthermore, agreeing with the findings of an expert in public international law, the court found that the German courts were not debarred under public international law from trying the case. In particular, neither Article VI of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention), nor Article 9 of the 1993 Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY Statute) (see paragraphs 48-49 below) excluded the jurisdiction of German courts over acts of genocide committed outside Germany by a foreigner against foreigners. The court considered that this view was confirmed by the fact that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) had stated that it was not willing to take over the applicant’s prosecution.
18. Furthermore, the court found that the applicant had acted with intent to commit genocide within the meaning of Article 220a of the Criminal Code. Referring to the views expressed by several legal writers, it stated that the “destruction of a group” within the meaning of Article 220a of the Criminal Code meant destruction of the group as a social unit in its distinctiveness and particularity and its feeling of belonging together (“Zerstörung der Gruppe als sozialer Einheit in ihrer Besonderheit und Eigenart und ihrem Zusammengehörigkeitsgefühl”); a biological-physical destruction was not necessary. It concluded that the applicant had therefore acted with intent to destroy the group of Muslims in the north of Bosnia, or at least in the Doboj region.
3. Proceedings before the Federal Court of Justice
19. On 30 April 1999 the Federal Court of Justice, following an appeal by the applicant on points of law and after a hearing, convicted the applicant on one count of genocide and thirty counts of murder. It sentenced him to life imprisonment and stated that his guilt was of a particular gravity.
20. Endorsing the reasons given by the Court of Appeal, it found that German criminal law was applicable to the case and that the German courts consequently had jurisdiction over it by virtue of Article 6 no. 1 of the Criminal Code. It found, in particular, that no rule of public international law prohibited the applicant’s conviction by the German criminal courts in accordance with the principle of universal jurisdiction (Universalitäts‑/Weltrechtsprinzip) enshrined in that Article. It conceded that the said principle had not been expressly laid down in Article VI of the Genocide Convention, despite earlier drafts of the Genocide Convention in which it had been proposed to do so. However, the said Article did not prohibit persons charged with genocide from being tried by national courts other than the tribunals of the State in the territory of which the act was committed. Any other interpretation would not be reconcilable with the erga omnes obligation undertaken by the Contracting States in Article I of the Genocide Convention to prevent and punish genocide (see paragraph 48 below). The aforesaid interpretation of the Genocide Convention was also confirmed by Article 9 § 1 of the ICTY Statute, which provided for concurrent jurisdiction of the ICTY and all other national courts.
21. Moreover, the Federal Court of Justice found that the German courts also had jurisdiction pursuant to Article 7 § 2 no. 2 of the Criminal Code (see paragraph 34 below).
22. The Federal Court of Justice did not expressly deal with the applicant’s complaint that the Court of Appeal, in its decision of 18 August 1997, had refused to summon abroad any of the defence witnesses he had named on the basis of Article 244 § 5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, it referred in general to the submissions of the Federal Public Prosecutor (Generalbundesanwalt), who had argued that the applicant’s appeal was inadmissible in this respect, as he had failed to set out the relevant facts in sufficient detail. As regards the applicant’s complaint that the Court of Appeal, in its decision of 12 September 1997, had refused to summon three further defence witnesses abroad, the Federal Court of Justice considered his complaint to be inadmissible, as he had not sufficiently set out the relevant facts and had not provided sufficient reasons in his appeal. The court further referred to the Federal Public Prosecutor’s submissions regarding the applicant’s complaint that the Court of Appeal had refused to have a topographical map drawn up. According to the Federal Public Prosecutor, the applicant’s complaint was ill-founded in this respect, especially as the Court of Appeal already had a video of the relevant locality.
23. The Federal Court of Justice upheld the Court of Appeal’s finding that the applicant had intended to commit genocide within the meaning of Article 220a of the Criminal Code, but found that his actions as a whole had to be considered as only one count of genocide. It referred to the wording of Article 220a § 1 no. 4 (imposition of measures which are intended to prevent births within the group) and no. 5 (forcible transfer of children of the group into another group) in support of its view that genocide did not necessitate an intent to destroy a group physically, but that it was sufficient to intend its destruction as a social unit.
4. Proceedings before the Federal Constitutional Court
24. On 12 December 2000 the Federal Constitutional Court declined to consider the applicant’s constitutional complaint.
25. According to the Constitutional Court, the criminal courts had not violated any provision of the Basic Law by establishing their jurisdiction pursuant to Article 6 no. 1 of the Criminal Code taken in conjunction with Article VI of the Genocide Convention. The principle of universal jurisdiction afforded a reasonable link to deal with subject matter arising outside the territory of Germany, while observing the duty of non-intervention (Interventionsverbot) under public international law. The competent courts’ reasoning, namely, that Article 6 no. 1 of the Criminal Code taken in conjunction with Article VI of the Genocide Convention entitled them to examine the applicant’s case, was not arbitrary. It could properly be reasoned that the Genocide Convention, while not expressly regulating the principle of universal jurisdiction, provided that the Contracting Parties were not obliged to prosecute perpetrators of genocide, but had jurisdiction to do so. In fact, genocide was the classic subject matter to which the principle of universal jurisdiction applied. The criminal courts’ reasoning did not interfere with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s personal or territorial sovereignty, as that State had expressly refrained from requesting the applicant’s extradition.
26. Pointing out that in the case of an admissible constitutional complaint it was entitled to examine the act complained of under all constitutional angles, the Federal Constitutional Court further found that the applicant’s right to a fair trial as guaranteed by the Basic Law had not been violated. There was no doubt that Article 244 §§ 3 and 5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure were constitutional. The legislature was not obliged to set up specific rules of procedure for certain criminal offences. The right to a fair trial did not grant the applicant a right to have certain evidence taken, such as calling witnesses who had to be summoned abroad.
27. In respect of the interpretation of Article 220a of the Criminal Code, the Federal Constitutional Court found that there had been no violation of the principle that criminal law was not to be applied retroactively as guaranteed by Article 103 § 2 of the Basic Law. It stated that the way in which the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court of Justice had construed the notion of “intent to destroy” in the said Article was foreseeable. Moreover, the interpretation conformed to that of the prohibition of genocide in public international law – in the light of which Article 220a of the Criminal Code had to be construed – by the competent tribunals, several scholars and as reflected in the practice of the United Nations, as expressed, inter alia, in Resolution 47/121 of the General Assembly (see paragraph 41 below).
5. Reopening of the proceedings
28. On 3 July 2002 the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal declared inadmissible a request by the applicant to reopen the proceedings. The fact that one of the witnesses who had been examined by the Court of Appeal, and who was the only person claiming to have been an eyewitness to the applicant murdering twenty-two people in Grabska, was suspected of perjury did not warrant a reopening. Even assuming that the said witness had invented the allegations against the applicant, the latter would still have to be sentenced to life imprisonment for genocide and on eight counts of murder.
29. On 20 December 2002 (decision served on 28 January 2003) the Federal Court of Justice decided that the applicant’s request to reopen the proceedings was admissible in so far as it concerned the murder of twenty-two people in Grabska. It pointed out, however, that, even assuming that the applicant’s conviction on twenty-two counts of murder was not upheld, his conviction for genocide and on eight counts of murder, and therefore his life sentence, including the finding that his guilt was of a particular gravity, would prevail.
30. In a constitutional complaint of 28 February 2003, the applicant claimed that the decisions of the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal and the Federal Court of Justice concerning the reopening of the proceedings violated his right to liberty as guaranteed by the Basic Law. He argued that they had erred in their finding that, in the proceedings to have the case reopened, the question whether the applicant’s guilt was of a particular gravity did not have to be assessed anew.
31. On 22 April 2003 the Federal Constitutional Court refused to admit the applicant’s constitutional complaint.
32. On 21 June 2004 the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal decided to reopen the proceedings in respect of the applicant’s conviction for shooting twenty-two people in Grabska. It found that the only person claiming to have been an eyewitness to these murders was guilty of perjury at least in respect of some other statements. Therefore, it could not rule out the possibility that the judges then adjudicating the case would have acquitted the applicant on that charge if they had known that some statements by this witness had been false.
33. In so far as the applicant’s request to reopen the proceedings was granted, the Court of Appeal discontinued the proceedings. It argued that the sentence to be expected by the applicant, if he was again found guilty of having murdered twenty-two people in Grabska, was not significantly greater than the sentence which had already been imposed upon him with binding effect for genocide. Consequently, the judgment of the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal of 26 September 1997 remained final regarding the applicant’s conviction for genocide and on eight counts of murder, including the court’s finding that his guilt was of a particular gravity.
II. RELEVANT DOMESTIC AND PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW AND PRACTICE
1. Criminal Code
34. The relevant provisions of the Criminal Code, in their versions in force at the material time, on the jurisdiction of German courts, the crime of genocide and the gravity of a defendant’s guilt provided as follows:
Article 6
Acts committed abroad against internationally protected legal interests
“German criminal law shall further apply, regardless of the law applicable at the place of their commission, to the following acts committed abroad:
1. genocide (Article 220a);
...”
Article 7
Applicability to acts committed abroad in other cases
“1. ...
2. German criminal law shall apply to other offences committed abroad if the act is punishable at the place of its commission or if the place of its commission is not subject to enforcement of criminal law and if the perpetrator
...
(2) was a foreigner at the time of the act, was found to be in Germany and, although the law on extradition would permit extradition for such an act, is not extradited because a request for extradition is not made, is rejected or the extradition is not enforceable.”
“1. Whoever, acting with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, racial, religious or ethnical group as such,
(1) kills members of the group,
(2) causes serious bodily or mental harm ... to members of the group,
(3) places the group in living conditions capable of bringing about their physical destruction in whole or in part,
(4) imposes measures which are intended to prevent births within the group,
(5) forcibly transfers children of the group into another group,
shall be punished with life imprisonment.
...”
35. Article 220a of the Criminal Code was inserted into the German Criminal Code by the Act of 9 August 1954 on Germany’s accession to the Genocide Convention and came into force in 1955. Article 6 no. 1 and Article 220a of the Criminal Code ceased to be effective on 30 June 2002 when the Code on Crimes against International Law (Völkerstrafgesetzbuch) came into force. Pursuant to Article 1 of the new Code, it applies to criminal offences against international law such as genocide (see Article 6 of the new Code) even when the offence was committed abroad and bears no relation to Germany.
36. The applicant is the first person to be convicted of genocide by German courts under Article 220a since the incorporation of that Article into the Criminal Code. At the time the applicant committed his acts in 1992, a majority of scholars took the view that genocidal “intent to destroy a group” under Article 220a of the Criminal Code had to be aimed at the physical-biological destruction of the protected group (see, for example, A. Eser in Schönke/Schröder, Strafgesetzbuch – Kommentar, 24th edition, Munich 1991, Article 220a, §§ 4-5 with further references). However, a considerable number of scholars were of the opinion that the notion of destruction of a group as such, in its literal meaning, was wider than a physical-biological extermination and also encompassed the destruction of a group as a social unit (see, in particular, H.-H. Jescheck, Die internationale Genocidium-Konvention vom 9. Dezember 1948 und die Lehre vom Völkerstrafrecht, ZStW 66 (1954), p. 213, and B. Jähnke in Leipziger Kommentar, Strafgesetzbuch, 10th edition, Berlin, New York 1989, Article 220a, §§ 4, 8 and 13).
37. Under Article 57a § 1 of the Criminal Code, a sentence to life imprisonment may only be suspended on probation if, in particular, fifteen years of the sentence have been served and the particular gravity of the defendant’s guilt (besondere Schwere der Schuld) does not warrant the continued execution of the sentence.
2. Code of Criminal Procedure
38. Pursuant to Article 244 § 3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, an application to adduce evidence may be rejected only under the conditions set out in that Article. It may be dismissed, inter alia, if the evidence is unobtainable (unerreichbar).
39. Article 244 § 5, second sentence, of the Code of Criminal Procedure lays down special conditions for rejecting an application to examine a witness who would have to be summoned abroad. These conditions are less strict than those for rejecting an application to hear evidence from a witness who can be summoned in Germany. It is sufficient that the court, in the proper exercise of its discretion, deems the examination of the witness not to be necessary for establishing the truth.
3. Comparative and public international law and practice
(a) Definition and scope of the crime of genocide
(i) The 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention)
40. The relevant provision of the Genocide Convention, which came into force for Germany on 22 February 1955, provides:
Article II
“In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”
(ii) Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly
41. In its Resolution 47/121 (no. A/RES/47/121) of 18 December 1992 concerning the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, the United Nations General Assembly stated:
“Gravely concerned about the deterioration of the situation in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina owing to intensified aggressive acts by the Serbian and Montenegrin forces to acquire more territories by force, characterized by a consistent pattern of gross and systematic violations of human rights, a burgeoning refugee population resulting from mass expulsions of defenceless civilians from their homes and the existence in Serbian and Montenegrin controlled areas of concentration camps and detention centres, in pursuit of the abhorrent policy of “ethnic cleansing”, which is a form of genocide, ...”
(iii) Case-law of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
42. In the case of Prosecutor v. Krstić, IT-98-33-T, judgment of 2 August 2001, §§ 577-80, the Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), expressly diverging from the wider interpretation of the notion of “intent to destroy” by the United Nations General Assembly and the Federal Constitutional Court in its judgment of 12 December 2000 in the present case, found as follows with regard to the Genocide Convention:
“577. Several recent declarations and decisions, however, have interpreted the intent to destroy ... so as to encompass evidence relating to acts that involved cultural and other non-physical forms of group destruction.
578. In 1992, the United Nations General Assembly labelled ethnic cleansing as a form of genocide. ...
579. The Federal Constitutional Court of Germany said in December 2000 that
the statutory definition of genocide defends a supra-individual object of legal protection, i.e. the social existence of the group ... the intent to destroy the group ... extends beyond physical and biological extermination ... The text of the law does not therefore compel the interpretation that the culprit’s intent must be to exterminate physically at least a substantial number of the members of the group. ...
580. The Trial Chamber is aware that it must interpret the Convention with due regard for the principle of nullum crimen sine lege. It therefore recognises that, despite recent developments, customary international law limits the definition of genocide to those acts seeking the physical or biological destruction of all or part of the group. Hence, an enterprise attacking only the cultural or sociological characteristics of a human group in order to annihilate these elements which give to that group its own identity distinct from the rest of the community would not fall under the definition of genocide. The Trial Chamber however points out that where there is physical or biological destruction there are often simultaneous attacks on the cultural and religious property and symbols of the targeted group as well, attacks which may legitimately be considered as evidence of an intent to physically destroy the group.”
43. The Trial Chamber’s judgment was upheld in this respect by the judgment of 19 April 2004 rendered by the Appeals Chamber of the ICTY, IT-98-33-A, which found:
“25. The Genocide Convention, and customary international law in general, prohibit only the physical or biological destruction of a human group. ... The Trial Chamber expressly acknowledged this limitation, and eschewed any broader definition. ...”
33. ... The fact that the forcible transfer does not constitute in and of itself a genocidal act does not preclude a Trial Chamber from relying on it as evidence of the intentions of members of the VRS Main Staff. The genocidal intent may be inferred, among other facts, from evidence of ‘other culpable acts systematically directed against the same group’.”
44. Similarly, in the case of Prosecutor v. Kupreškić and Others (IT‑95‑16-T, judgment of 14 January 2000, § 751), which concerned the killing of some 116 Muslims in order to expel the Muslim population from a village, the ICTY found:
“Persecution is only one step away from genocide – the most abhorrent crime against humanity – for in genocide, the persecutory intent is pushed to its utmost limits through the pursuit of the physical annihilation of the group or of members of the group. In the crime of genocide the criminal intent is to destroy the group or its members; in the crime of persecution the criminal intent is instead to forcibly discriminate against a group or members thereof by grossly and systematically violating their fundamental human rights. In the present case, according to the Prosecution – and this is a point on which the Trial Chamber agrees – the killing of Muslim civilians was primarily aimed at expelling the group from the village, not at destroying the Muslim group as such. This is therefore a case of persecution, not of genocide.”
(iv) Case-law of the International Court of Justice
45. In its judgment of 26 February 2007 in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro (“Case concerning application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide”), the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found under the heading of “intent and ‘ethnic cleansing’” (at § 190):
“The term ‘ethnic cleansing’ has frequently been employed to refer to the events in Bosnia and Herzegovina which are the subject of this case ... General Assembly resolution 47/121 referred in its Preamble to ‘the abhorrent policy of “ethnic cleansing”, which is a form of genocide’, as being carried on in Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... It [i.e., ethnic cleansing] can only be a form of genocide within the meaning of the Convention, if it corresponds to or falls within one of the categories of acts prohibited by Article II of the Convention. Neither the intent, as a matter of policy, to render an area ‘ethnically homogeneous’, nor the operations that may be carried out to implement such policy, can as such be designated as genocide: the intent that characterizes genocide is ‘to destroy, in whole or in part’ a particular group, and deportation or displacement of the members of a group, even if effected by force, is not necessarily equivalent to destruction of that group, nor is such destruction an automatic consequence of the displacement. This is not to say that acts described as ‘ethnic cleansing’ may never constitute genocide, if they are such as to be characterized as, for example, ‘deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part’, contrary to Article II, paragraph (c), of the Convention, provided such action is carried out with the necessary specific intent (dolus specialis), that is to say with a view to the destruction of the group, as distinct from its removal from the region. As the ICTY has observed, while ‘there are obvious similarities between a genocidal policy and the policy commonly known as “ethnic cleansing”‘ (Krstić, IT-98-33-T, Trial Chamber Judgment, 2 August 2001, para. 562), yet ‘[a] clear distinction must be drawn between physical destruction and mere dissolution of a group. The expulsion of a group or part of a group does not in itself suffice for genocide.’ ...”
(v) Interpretation by other Convention States
46. According to the material available to the Court, there have been only very few cases of national prosecution of genocide in other Convention States. There are no reported cases in which the courts of these States have defined the type of group destruction the perpetrator must have intended in order to be found guilty of genocide, that is, whether the notion of “intent to destroy” covers only physical or biological destruction or whether it also comprises destruction of a group as a social unit.
(vi) Interpretation by legal writers
47. Amongst scholars, the majority have taken the view that ethnic cleansing, in the way in which it was carried out by the Serb forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to expel Muslims and Croats from their homes, did not constitute genocide (see, amongst many others, William A. Schabas, Genocide in International Law: The Crime of Crimes, Cambridge 2000, pp. 199 et seq.). However, there are also a considerable number of scholars who have suggested that these acts did amount to genocide (see, inter alia, M. Lippman, Genocide: The Crime of the Century, HOUJIL 23 (2001), p. 526, and J. Hübner, Das Verbrechen des Völkermordes im internationalen und nationalen Recht, Frankfurt am Main 2004, pp. 208-17; G. Werle, differentiating in Völkerstrafrecht, 1st edition, Tübingen 2003, pp. 205, 218 et seq., pointed out that it depended on the circumstances of the case, in particular on the scope of the crimes committed, whether an intent to destroy the group as a social unit, as opposed to a mere intent to expel the group, could be proved).
(b) Universal jurisdiction for the crime of genocide
(i) The 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention)
48. The relevant provisions of the Genocide Convention read:
Article I
“The Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish.”
Article VI
“Persons charged with genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in Article III shall be tried by a competent tribunal of the State in the territory of which the act was committed, or by such international penal tribunal as may have jurisdiction with respect to those Contracting Parties which shall have accepted its jurisdiction.”
(ii) The 1993 Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY Statute)
49. The relevant provision of the ICTY Statute provides:
Article 9
Concurrent jurisdiction
“1. The International Tribunal and national courts shall have concurrent jurisdiction to prosecute persons for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1 January 1991.
2. The International Tribunal shall have primacy over national courts. At any stage of the procedure, the International Tribunal may formally request national courts to defer to the competence of the International Tribunal in accordance with the present Statute and the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Tribunal.”
(iii) Case-law of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
50. The Appeals Chamber of the ICTY, in its decision of 2 October 1995 on the defence motion for interlocutory appeal on jurisdiction in the case of Prosecutor v. Tadić (no. IT-94-1), stated that “universal jurisdiction [is] nowadays acknowledged in the case of international crimes” (§ 62).
51. Likewise, the Trial Chamber of the ICTY, in its judgment of 10 December 1998 in Prosecutor v. Furundžija (no. IT‑95‑17/1‑T), found that [it] has been held that international crimes being universally condemned wherever they occur, every State has the right to prosecute and punish the authors of such crimes. As stated in general terms by the Supreme Court of Israel in Eichmann, and echoed by a USA court in Demjanjuk, “it is the universal character of the crimes in question ... which vests in every State the authority to try and punish those who participated in their commission” (§ 156).
(iv) Domestic law and practice in other Convention States
52. According to the information and material before the Court, including material submitted by the Government which has not been contested by the applicant, the statutory provisions of numerous other Convention States authorise the prosecution of genocide in circumstances comparable to those in issue in the present case.
53. In many Contracting States of the Convention, the prosecution of genocide is subject to the principle of universal jurisdiction, that is, jurisdiction for crimes committed outside the State’s territory by non-nationals against non-nationals of that State and which are not directed against the State’s own national interests, at least if the defendant was found to be present on its territory (for example Spain, France, Belgium (at least until 2003), Finland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands (since 2003), Russia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary). At the time of the applicant’s trial, numerous other States had authorised the prosecution of genocide committed abroad by foreign nationals against foreigners in accordance with provisions similar to the representation principle (stellvertretende Strafrechtspflege – compare Article 7 § 2 no. 2 of the German Criminal Code, paragraph 34 above), for example Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland (since 2000). Convention States which do not provide for universal jurisdiction for genocide include, notably, the United Kingdom.
54. Apart from the Austrian, Belgian and French courts, it is in particular the Spanish courts that have already adjudicated on charges of genocide, relying on the principle of universal jurisdiction. The Spanish Audiencia Nacional, in its judgment of 5 November 1998 in the Augusto Pinochet case, held that the Spanish courts had jurisdiction over the case. On the subject of the scope of the Genocide Convention it stated:
“Article 6 of the Convention does not preclude the existence of judicial bodies with jurisdiction apart from those in the territory where the crime was committed or international tribunals. ... it would be contrary to the spirit of the Convention ..., in order to avoid the commission with impunity of such a serious crime, to consider that this Article of the Convention limits the exercise of jurisdiction, excluding any jurisdiction other than those envisaged by the provision in question. The fact that the Contracting Parties have not agreed on universal jurisdiction over the crime for their respective national jurisdictions does not preclude the establishment, by a State which is a party to the Convention, of such jurisdiction over a crime which involves the whole world and affects the international community and indeed all of humanity directly, as stated in the Convention itself. ... Neither do the terms of Article 6 of the Convention of 1948 constitute an authorisation to exclude jurisdiction for the punishment of genocide in a State Party such as Spain, whose law establishes extraterritoriality with regard to prosecution for such crimes ...” (International Law Reports, vol. 119, pp. 331 et seq., at pp. 335-36)
THE LAW
I. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 5 § 1 (a) AND ARTICLE 6 § 1 OF THE CONVENTION
55. The applicant complained that his conviction for genocide by the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal, as upheld by the Federal Court of Justice and the Federal Constitutional Court, which he alleged had no jurisdiction over his case, and his ensuing detention amounted to a violation of Article 5 § 1 (a) and Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, the relevant parts of which provide:
Article 5
“1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be deprived of his liberty save in the following cases and in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law:
(a) the lawful detention of a person after conviction by a competent court;”
Article 6
“1. In the determination of ... any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fair ... hearing ... by [a] ... tribunal established by law. ...”
56. The Government contested that submission.
A. Admissibility
57. The Court notes that this complaint is not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 of the Convention. It further notes that it is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must therefore be declared admissible.
B. Merits
1. The parties’ submissions
(a) The applicant
58. The applicant took the view that there was a general rule of public international law, namely the duty of non-intervention, which, in principle, prohibited the German courts from prosecuting a foreigner living abroad for genocide purportedly committed by him in a foreign country against foreign victims. In his submission, the German courts were also debarred from exceptionally assuming jurisdiction in accordance with the international criminal law principle of universal jurisdiction enshrined in Article 6 no. 1 of the Criminal Code, as jurisdiction in accordance with that principle was not recognised internationally in the case of genocide.
59. The applicant argued in particular that, pursuant to Article VI of the Genocide Convention, only the tribunal of the State in the territory of which the act was committed or an international tribunal had jurisdiction to try persons charged with genocide. That Article therefore reflected the duty of non-intervention flowing from the principle of sovereignty and equality of all States, and the prohibition of an abuse of rights, which were general rules of public international law. He conceded that the principle of universal jurisdiction, as recognised in customary public international law, could, in theory, confer jurisdiction on a national court other than the one named in Article VI of the Genocide Convention. However, he maintained that jurisdiction in accordance with that principle, being an exception to the rule of the duty of non-intervention, was neither recognised in international treaty law nor in customary international law for the purpose of trying persons charged with genocide. The German courts had therefore arbitrarily assumed jurisdiction.
(b) The Government
60. In the Government’s submission, the German courts had been the “competent court[s]” within the meaning of Article 5 § 1 (a) of the Convention to convict the applicant and the “tribunal[s] established by law” within the meaning of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention. German criminal law had been applicable to the facts of the case so that, in accordance with German law, German courts had had jurisdiction over the offences the applicant had been charged with. They had been competent under Article 6 no. 1 of the Criminal Code (in its version then in force). There had also been a legitimate link between the prosecution of the offences the applicant had been charged with and Germany itself, as considered necessary by the German courts beyond the wording of Article 6 no. 1 of the Criminal Code in order to establish jurisdiction, thus respecting the principle of non-intervention. The applicant had lived in Germany for many years, was still registered with the authorities as living there and had been arrested on German territory. Moreover, Germany had participated in the military and humanitarian missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition to that, the requirements of Article 7 § 2 no. 2 of the Criminal Code, which incorporated the representation principle, had been met, particularly as neither the ICTY nor the criminal courts at the place of the crime in Bosnia and Herzegovina had requested the applicant’s extradition.
61. The Government further took the view that the provisions of German law on jurisdiction conformed to the principles of public international law. In particular, as had been convincingly shown by the German courts, Article VI of the Genocide Convention, which laid down minimum requirements in respect of the duty to prosecute genocide, did not prohibit the tribunal of a State other than the one in the territory of which the act was committed from prosecuting genocide.
62. Moreover, the principle of universal jurisdiction as recognised in customary public international law authorised all States to establish jurisdiction over crimes against international law such as acts of genocide, which were directed against the interests of the international community as a whole, irrespective of where or by whom those crimes had been committed. Likewise, jurisdiction under the representation principle as laid down in Article 7 § 2 no. 2 of the Criminal Code did not contravene public international law. The German courts had therefore been authorised to adjudicate on the applicant’s case.
63. The Government submitted that the legislation and case-law of numerous other Contracting States to the Convention and the case-law of the ICTY expressly authorised the prosecution of genocide in accordance with the principle of universal jurisdiction.
2. The Court’s assessment
(a) Relevant principles
64. The Court finds that the case primarily falls to be examined under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention under the head of whether the applicant was heard by a “tribunal established by law”. It reiterates that this expression reflects the principle of the rule of law, which is inherent in the system of protection established by the Convention and its Protocols. “Law”, within the meaning of Article 6 § 1, comprises in particular the legislation on the establishment and competence of judicial organs (see, inter alia, Lavents v. Latvia, no. 58442/00, § 114, 28 November 2002). Accordingly, if a tribunal does not have jurisdiction to try a defendant in accordance with the provisions applicable under domestic law, it is not “established by law” within the meaning of Article 6 § 1 (compare Coëme and Others v. Belgium, nos. 32492/96, 32547/96, 32548/96, 33209/96 and 33210/96, §§ 99 and 107-08, ECHR 2000-VII).
65. The Court further reiterates that, in principle, a violation of the said domestic legal provisions on the establishment and competence of judicial organs by a tribunal gives rise to a violation of Article 6 § 1. The Court is therefore competent to examine whether the national law has been complied with in this respect. However, having regard to the general principle according to which it is in the first place for the national courts themselves to interpret the provisions of domestic law, the Court finds that it may not question their interpretation unless there has been a flagrant violation of domestic law (see, mutatis mutandis, Coëme and Others, cited above, § 98 in fine, and Lavents, cited above, § 114). In this respect the Court also reiterates that Article 6 does not grant the defendant a right to choose the jurisdiction of a court. The Court’s task is therefore limited to examining whether reasonable grounds existed for the authorities to establish jurisdiction (see, inter alia, G. v. Switzerland, no. 16875/90, Commission decision of 10 October 1990, unreported, and Kübli v. Switzerland, no. 17495/90, Commission decision of 2 December 1992, unreported).
(b) Application of the principles to the present case
66. The Court notes that the German courts based their jurisdiction on Article 6 no. 1 of the Criminal Code, taken in conjunction with Article 220a of that Code (in their versions then in force). These provisions provided that German criminal law was applicable and that, consequently, German courts had jurisdiction to try persons charged with genocide committed abroad, regardless of the defendant’s and the victims’ nationalities. The domestic courts had therefore established jurisdiction in accordance with the clear wording of the pertinent provisions of the Criminal Code.
67. In deciding whether the German courts had jurisdiction under the material provisions of domestic law, the Court must further ascertain whether the domestic courts’ decision that they had jurisdiction over the applicant’s case was in compliance with the provisions of public international law applicable in Germany. It notes that the national courts found that the public international law principle of universal jurisdiction, which was codified in Article 6 no. 1 of the Criminal Code, established their jurisdiction while complying with the public international law duty of non-intervention. In their view, their competence under the principle of universal jurisdiction was not excluded by the wording of Article VI of the Genocide Convention, as that Article was to be understood as establishing a duty for the courts named therein to try persons suspected of genocide, while not prohibiting the prosecution of genocide by other national courts.
68. In determining whether the domestic courts’ interpretation of the applicable rules and provisions of public international law on jurisdiction was reasonable, the Court is in particular required to examine their interpretation of Article VI of the Genocide Convention. It observes, as was also noted by the domestic courts (see, in particular, paragraph 20 above), that the Contracting Parties to the Genocide Convention, despite proposals in earlier drafts to that effect, had not agreed to codify the principle of universal jurisdiction over genocide for the domestic courts of all Contracting States in that Article (compare paragraphs 20 and 54 above). However, pursuant to Article I of the Genocide Convention, the Contracting Parties were under an erga omnes obligation to prevent and punish genocide, the prohibition of which forms part of the jus cogens. In view of this, the national courts’ reasoning that the purpose of the Genocide Convention, as expressed notably in that Article, did not exclude jurisdiction for the punishment of genocide by States whose laws establish extraterritoriality in this respect must be considered as reasonable (and indeed convincing). Having thus reached a reasonable and unequivocal interpretation of Article VI of the Genocide Convention in accordance with the aim of that Convention, there was no need, in interpreting the said Convention, to have recourse to the preparatory documents, which play only a subsidiary role in the interpretation of public international law (see Articles 31 § 1 and 32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 23 May 1969).
69. The Court observes in this connection that the German courts’ interpretation of Article VI of the Genocide Convention in the light of Article I of that Convention and their establishment of jurisdiction to try the applicant on charges of genocide is widely confirmed by the statutory provisions and case-law of numerous other Contracting States to the Convention (for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) and by the Statute and case-law of the ICTY. It notes, in particular, that the Spanish Audiencia Nacional has interpreted Article VI of the Genocide Convention in exactly the same way as the German courts (see paragraph 54 above). Furthermore, Article 9 § 1 of the ICTY Statute confirms the German courts’ view, providing for concurrent jurisdiction of the ICTY and national courts, without any restriction to domestic courts of particular countries. Indeed, the principle of universal jurisdiction for genocide has been expressly acknowledged by the ICTY (see paragraphs 50-51 above) and numerous Convention States authorise the prosecution of genocide in accordance with that principle, or at least where, as in the applicant’s case, additional conditions – such as those required under the representation principle – are met (see paragraphs 52-53 above).
70. The Court concludes that the German courts’ interpretation of the applicable provisions and rules of public international law, in the light of which the provisions of the Criminal Code had to be construed, was not arbitrary. They therefore had reasonable grounds for establishing their jurisdiction to try the applicant on charges of genocide.
71. It follows that the applicant’s case was heard by a tribunal established by law within the meaning of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention. There has therefore been no violation of that provision.
72. Having regard to the above finding under Article 6 § 1, namely, that the German courts had reasonably assumed jurisdiction to try the applicant on charges of genocide, the Court concludes that the applicant was also lawfully detained after conviction “by a competent court” within the meaning of Article 5 § 1 (a) of the Convention. Accordingly, there has been no violation of that Article either.
II. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 6 §§ 1 AND 3 (d) OF THE CONVENTION
73. The applicant claimed that, due to the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal’s refusal, on the basis of Article 244 § 5 of the Criminal Code, to call any witness for the defence who would have had to be summoned abroad, he had not had a fair trial within the meaning of Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (d) of the Convention. He further complained that the refusal of the Court of Appeal to inspect the purported scene of the crime in Grabska or to have a topographical map drawn up also amounted to a violation of Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (d) of the Convention, which, in so far as relevant, read as follows:
“1. In the determination of ... any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fair ... hearing ... by [a] ... tribunal ...
3. Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following minimum rights:
...
(d) to examine or have examined witnesses against him and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him;”
74. The Government contested that submission.
A. The parties’ submissions
1. The Government
75. In the Government’s submission, the applicant had not exhausted domestic remedies in respect of his objection to the Court of Appeal’s refusal to call twenty-eight witnesses in the proceedings before the Federal Court of Justice on the ground that he had not sufficiently substantiated his complaints. They further argued that the applicant had not in any way raised his complaint about the Court of Appeal’s refusal to inspect the purported scene of the crime in Grabska in the proceedings before the Federal Court of Justice and had therefore also failed to exhaust domestic remedies in that respect.
76. The Government further claimed that the applicant could no longer claim to be the victim of a violation of his Convention rights and that the application was incompatible ratione personae with the Convention in so far as his complaints related to requests to take evidence in respect of the charge of the murder of twenty-two people in Grabska. They argued that the criminal proceedings against the applicant had been reopened and discontinued in respect of these offences.
77. The Government submitted that, in any event, the applicant’s right to a fair trial under Article 6 of the Convention had not been violated. The Court of Appeal had taken evidence in compliance with the requirements of that provision. Pursuant to Article 244 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in particular, the same rules for the taking of evidence applied both to the prosecution and the defence. Under the German Code of Criminal Procedure, it was for the criminal courts themselves to investigate the truth of their own motion. Even though the investigation into offences committed abroad raised considerable procedural problems, the defendants were protected by the rules on criminal procedure and by having the benefit of the doubt.
78. In the Government’s view, the Court of Appeal had not acted arbitrarily in dismissing the applicant’s requests to take further evidence. It had duly examined the applicant’s requests and had given objectively justified reasons for dismissing them. Its conclusion under Article 244 § 5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure that the summoning of the witnesses named by the applicant was not necessary in the circumstances of the case for ascertaining the truth did not disclose any error of law and the Court of Appeal had given full reasons for its decisions.
2. The applicant
79. The applicant contested the Government’s view. He stressed that the Federal Constitutional Court had not dismissed his complaint for lack of exhaustion of domestic remedies and maintained that he had not lost his status of victim of a violation of Article 6 of the Convention.
80. The applicant complained that Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (d) of the Convention had been violated in that, under Article 244 § 5, second sentence, of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Court of Appeal had refused to call all twenty-eight defence witnesses named by him who would have had to be summoned abroad, whereas it had called and examined six witnesses named by the prosecution who had been summoned abroad. He maintained that in the circumstances of his case the Court of Appeal, had it used its discretionary powers correctly, would have been debarred from applying Article 244 § 5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The said provision laid down preconditions for refusing to call a witness who had to be summoned abroad which were less strict than those applicable to a refusal to call witnesses living in Germany. It was based on the assumption that for criminal trials in Germany, evidence could mainly be obtained in Germany. However, in his case, which concerned acts purportedly committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a rule all the witnesses lived abroad. The application of Article 244 § 5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure had therefore been arbitrary. If the Court of Appeal had called the witnesses named, it would immediately have found that the witness for the prosecution concerning the alleged offences in Grabska had not told the truth.
B. The Court’s assessment
81. The Court does not consider it necessary in the present case to rule on the Government’s objections concerning the exhaustion of domestic remedies and the applicant’s victim status since, even assuming that the applicant has exhausted domestic remedies and can still claim to be a victim of a violation of Article 6 of the Convention in all respects, it considers that the application is in any event inadmissible for the reasons set out below.
1. General principles
82. The Court reiterates that, as a general rule, it is for the national courts to assess the evidence before them, as well as the relevance of the evidence which the defendant seeks to adduce. More specifically, Article 6 § 3 (d) – which lays down specific aspects of the general concept of a fair trial set forth in Article 6 § 1 – leaves it to them, in principle, to assess, in particular, whether it is appropriate to call certain witnesses. It does not require the attendance and examination of every witness on behalf of the accused. However, it is the task of the Court to ascertain whether the taking and assessment of evidence violated the principle of a full “equality of arms”, rendering the proceedings as a whole unfair (see, inter alia, Vidal v. Belgium, 22 April 1992, § 33, Series A no. 235-B, and Heidegger v. Austria (dec.), no. 27077/95, 5 October 1999).
83. In cases arising from individual applications it is not the Court’s task to examine the domestic legislation in the abstract, but it must examine the manner in which that legislation was applied to the applicant in the particular circumstances (see, amongst others, Sahin v. Germany [GC], no. 30943/96, § 87, ECHR 2003-VIII, and Sommerfeld v. Germany [GC], no. 31871/96, § 86, ECHR 2003-VIII).
2. Application of those principles to the present case
84. The Court therefore has to determine whether the domestic courts’ application of Article 244 of the Criminal Code and their ensuing refusal to call certain witnesses, inspect the scene of the purported offence or have a topographical map drawn up rendered the proceedings as a whole unfair.
85. The Court observes at the outset that it is uncontested between the parties that Article 244 of the Criminal Code applies to all requests to call witnesses or to obtain other evidence, whether brought by the prosecution or the defence. In cases like the present one, in which the crime was committed outside Germany and in which it will, as a rule, prove necessary to obtain evidence from abroad, its application did not therefore generally favour applications to take evidence brought by the prosecution. Moreover, it is true that Article 244 § 5, second sentence, of the Code of Criminal Procedure lays down special conditions for rejecting an application to examine a witness – whether for the prosecution or for the defence – who would have to be summoned abroad. These conditions are indeed less strict than those for rejecting an application to hear evidence from a witness who can be summoned in Germany. However, these witnesses are not automatically treated as unobtainable evidence. The courts, pre-assessing the evidence before them, may, however, conclude that the examination of such a witness is not necessary for establishing the truth (see paragraph 39 above).
86. The Court further notes that the Court of Appeal, acting as a court of first instance, refused to call any of the twenty-eight witnesses living in Bosnia named by the applicant, while it summoned six prosecution witnesses abroad. However, this fact does not as such warrant the conclusion that the principle of equality of arms or the applicant’s right to obtain the attendance of witnesses were disregarded, and that, consequently, the proceedings as a whole were unfair. In this respect, the Court observes in particular that the Court of Appeal, giving detailed reasons for the refusal to take further evidence, considered the written statements of at least seven of the said twenty-eight witnesses to prove the same fact (namely the applicant’s detention at the time of the offence) before concluding that the testimony of all twenty-eight witnesses would be of little evidential value and irrelevant in deciding the case. The Court observes that the Court of Appeal, when rejecting the applicant’s request to call these witnesses, had already heard the testimonies of more than twenty witnesses, including that of two journalists who were not affected by the offences the applicant was charged with (and could therefore, as a rule, be considered as particularly credible). These witnesses, who could be cross-examined by the applicant, had all stated that they had seen the applicant outside prison during the time he claimed to have been detained. In these circumstances, the Court cannot find that the domestic courts acted arbitrarily in deciding that the testimonies of the witnesses named by the applicant to prove his detention at the time of the offence had not been relevant. Therefore, the Court finds no indication that the proceedings against the applicant were as a whole unfair.
87. As regards the applicant’s complaint about the refusal of the Court of Appeal to inspect the purported scene of the crime in Grabska or to have a topographical map drawn up for the purpose of proving that the witnesses’ submissions concerning the purported acts were untrustworthy, the Court finds that the Court of Appeal gave proper reasons for its decision why it considered the taking of this evidence to be unobtainable. Having regard to the fact that the Court of Appeal had a video of the relevant locality and that the applicant could question the conclusiveness of the evidence taken in respect of the acts in question, the Court finds no indication that the failure to take additional evidence was incompatible with Article 6 §§ 1 and 3.
88. It follows that the applicant’s complaints under Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (d) of the Convention must be dismissed as manifestly ill-founded, in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 and 4 of the Convention.
III. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE CONVENTION
89. The applicant further complained that the wide interpretation of the crime of genocide, as adopted by the German courts, did not have a basis in the wording of that offence as laid down in German and public international law, and that the German courts arbitrarily found that his guilt was of a particular gravity. He claimed that his conviction therefore amounted to a breach of Article 7 § 1 of the Convention, which provides:
“No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence under national or international law at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the criminal offence was committed.”
90. The Government contested that argument.
A. Admissibility
91. The Court notes that this complaint is not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 of the Convention. It further notes that it is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must therefore be declared admissible.
B. Merits
1. The parties’ submissions
(a) The applicant
92. The applicant stated that a conviction for genocide under Article 220a of the Criminal Code required proof that the offender had acted with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, racial, ethnical or religious group as such. He maintained that, having regard to the literal meaning of the term “destroy”, a mere attack on the living conditions or the basis of subsistence of a group, as in the present case, did not constitute destruction of the group itself. The “ethnic cleansing” carried out by Bosnian Serbs in the Doboj region had been aimed only at driving all Muslims away from that region by force, that is, at expelling that group, not destroying its very existence. It therefore could not be considered as genocide within the meaning of Article 220a of the Criminal Code.
93. Furthermore, according to the applicant, the German courts’ interpretation of “intent to destroy” in Article 220a, which had been included in the Criminal Code in order to incorporate the Genocide Convention into national law, was contrary to the interpretation of the same notion in Article II of the Genocide Convention as adopted by the community of States. In fact, according to the internationally accepted doctrine, genocide applied only to cases in which murder, extermination or deportation was carried out with intent to eliminate a narrowly defined group, that is, to destroy it in a biological-physical sense, not merely as a social unit. The ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia could not be compared to the extermination of Jews committed during the Nazi regime, which had been the reason for creating the Genocide Convention.
94. The applicant claimed that it had not therefore been foreseeable for him at the time of the commission of his acts that the German courts would qualify them as genocide under German or public international law.
95. Likewise, according to the applicant, the German courts’ finding that his guilt was of a particular gravity amounted to a violation of Article 7 § 1 of the Convention in that the courts did not take into consideration that he had played only a minor role in the purported genocide in Bosnia.
(b) The Government
96. In the Government’s view, the German courts’ interpretation of the notion of “genocide” was not in breach of Article 7 § 1 of the Convention. The wording of the offence of genocide in Article 220a of the German Criminal Code permitted interpreting the notion of genocide as comprising acts committed with intent to destroy a group as a social unit. In particular, the intent to destroy had to be directed against the “group as such”, which suggested that not only the physical, but also the social existence of the group was protected. Moreover, the definition of genocide laid down in Article 220a § 1 no. 4 (imposition of measures which are intended to prevent births within the group) and no. 5 (forcible transfer of children of the group into another group) did not entail the physical destruction of living members of the group in question either.
97. For the same reasons, the wording of Article II of the Genocide Convention, which corresponded to Article 220a of the Criminal Code, did not restrict the offence of genocide to the physical-biological destruction of the group in question. This was confirmed by numerous scholars and by the United Nations General Assembly, which interpreted the Genocide Convention so as to comprise the protection of a group as a social unit (see paragraph 41 above).
98. As the German courts’ interpretation of the offence of genocide was compatible with the wording of Article 220a of the Criminal Code, the domestic courts’ interpretation had been foreseeable at the time the applicant committed the offence in 1992. Moreover, German scholars had by then taken the view that criminal liability for genocide was also aimed at protecting the social existence of groups (see paragraph 36 above).
99. The Government conceded that in its judgment of 2 August 2001 in the case of Prosecutor v. Krstić, the Trial Chamber of the ICTY, as upheld on appeal, had expressly rejected the Federal Constitutional Court’s interpretation of the notion of “intent to destroy” in its judgment in the present case. Relying on the principle of nullum crimen sine lege, the ICTY had argued for the first time that the offence of genocide under public international law was restricted to acts aimed at the physical or biological destruction of a group. However, this narrower interpretation of the scope of the crime of genocide by the ICTY in 2001 – which, in the Government’s view, was not convincing – did not call into question the fact that it had been foreseeable for the applicant, when he committed his offences in 1992, that these would be qualified as genocide. In any event, the German courts had not qualified ethnic cleansing in general as genocide, but had found that the applicant, in the circumstances of the case, was guilty of genocide as he had intended to destroy a group as a social unit and not merely to expel it.
2. The Court’s assessment
(a) General principles
100. The Court reiterates that the guarantee enshrined in Article 7 of the Convention is an essential element of the rule of law. It is not confined to prohibiting the retroactive application of criminal law to the disadvantage of an accused. It also embodies, more generally, the principle that only the law can define a crime and prescribe a penalty (nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege) and the principle that criminal law must not be extensively construed to the detriment of an accused, for instance by analogy. From these principles it follows that an offence must be clearly defined in the law. This requirement is satisfied where the individual can know from the wording of the relevant provision and, if need be, with the assistance of the courts’ interpretation of it, what acts and omissions will make him criminally liable. When speaking of “law” Article 7 alludes to the very same concept as that to which the Convention refers elsewhere when using that term, a concept which comprises written as well as unwritten law and implies qualitative requirements, notably those of accessibility and foreseeability (see, inter alia, S.W. v. the United Kingdom, 22 November 1995, §§ 34-35, Series A no. 335-B; C.R. v. the United Kingdom, 22 November 1995, §§ 32-33, Series A no. 335-C; and Streletz, Kessler and Krenz v. Germany [GC], no. 34044/96, 35532/97 and 44801/98, § 50, ECHR 2001-II).
101. In any system of law, including criminal law, however clearly drafted a legal provision may be, there is an inevitable element of judicial interpretation. There will always be a need for elucidation of doubtful points and for adaptation to changing circumstances. Indeed, in the Convention States, the progressive development of the criminal law through judicial law-making is a well entrenched and necessary part of legal tradition. Article 7 of the Convention cannot be read as outlawing the gradual clarification of the rules of criminal liability through judicial interpretation from case to case, provided that the resultant development is consistent with the essence of the offence and could reasonably be foreseen (see, inter alia, S.W. v. the United Kingdom, cited above, § 36; C.R. v. the United Kingdom, cited above, § 34; Streletz, Kessler and Krenz, cited above, § 50; and K.‑H.W. v. Germany [GC], no. 37201/97, § 45, ECHR 2001-II).
102. As regards the interpretation and application of domestic law, the Court reiterates that it is primarily for the national authorities, notably the courts, to interpret and apply domestic law (see, mutatis mutandis, Kopp v. Switzerland, 25 March 1998, § 59, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1998-II, and Streletz, Kessler and Krenz, cited above, § 49). While the Court’s duty, in accordance with Article 19 of the Convention, is to ensure the observance of the engagements undertaken by the Contracting Parties to the Convention, it is not its function to deal with errors of fact or law allegedly committed by a national court unless and in so far as they may have infringed rights and freedoms protected by the Convention (see, mutatis mutandis, Schenk v. Switzerland, 12 July 1988, § 45, Series A no. 140, and Streletz, Kessler and Krenz, cited above, § 49).
(b) Application of the principles to the present case
103. In the light of the above principles, the Court therefore needs to decide whether the national courts’ interpretation of the crime of genocide under German law, notably of the genocidal “intent to destroy”, so as to cover the applicant’s acts committed in the course of the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and Herzegovina was consistent with the essence of that offence and could reasonably be foreseen by the applicant at the material time.
104. In determining, firstly, whether the German courts’ interpretation was consistent with the essence of the offence of genocide, the Court observes that the domestic courts did not construe the scope of that offence narrowly. They considered that the “intent to destroy” a group within the meaning of Article 220a of the Criminal Code, as interpreted also in the light of Article II of the Genocide Convention, did not necessitate an intent to destroy that group in a physical or biological sense. It was sufficient that the perpetrator aimed at destroying the group in question as a social unit.
105. The Court notes that the domestic courts construed the “intent to destroy a group as such” systematically in the context of Article 220a § 1 of the Criminal Code as a whole, having regard notably to alternatives no. 4 (imposition of measures which are intended to prevent births within the group) and no. 5 (forcible transfer of children of the group into another group) of that provision, which did not necessitate a physical destruction of living members of the group in question. The Court finds that the domestic courts’ interpretation of “intent to destroy a group” as not necessitating a physical destruction of the group, which has also been adopted by a number of scholars (see paragraphs 36 and 47 above), is therefore covered by the wording, read in its context, of the crime of genocide in the Criminal Code and does not appear unreasonable.
106. Furthermore, the Court, like the national courts, considers it necessary, in order to determine the essence of the offence of genocide, to take into consideration also the codification of the prohibition of genocide in Article II of the Genocide Convention, for the observance of which Article 220a had been incorporated into the Criminal Code and in the light of which the said Article was to be construed. As the wording of Article 220a of the Criminal Code corresponds to that of Article II of the Genocide Convention in so far as the definition of genocide is concerned, the above reasoning with respect to the scope of the prohibition of genocide equally applies.
107. Moreover, the German courts’ interpretation has not only been supported by a number of scholars at the relevant time of the commission of the crime (see paragraph 36 above), the United Nations General Assembly also agreed with the wider interpretation adopted by the German courts in the present case in its Resolution 47/121 of 18 December 1992, (see paragraph 41 above).
108. Consequently, the applicant’s acts, which he committed in the course of the ethnic cleansing in the Doboj region with intent to destroy the group of Muslims as a social unit, could reasonably be regarded as falling within the ambit of the offence of genocide.
109. In deciding, secondly, whether the domestic courts’ interpretation of the crime of genocide could reasonably be foreseen by the applicant at the material time, the Court notes that the applicant is the first person to be convicted of genocide by German courts under Article 220a since the incorporation of that Article into the Criminal Code in 1955. In these circumstances the Court finds that, as opposed to cases concerning a reversal of pre-existing case-law, an interpretation of the scope of the offence which was – as in the present case – consistent with the essence of that offence must, as a rule, be considered as foreseeable. Despite this, the Court does not exclude that, exceptionally, an applicant could rely on a particular interpretation of the provision being taken by the domestic courts in the special circumstances of the case.
110. In the present case, which concerns the interpretation by national courts of a provision stemming from public international law, the Court finds it necessary, in order to ensure that the protection guaranteed by Article 7 § 1 of the Convention remains effective, to examine whether there were special circumstances warranting the conclusion that the applicant, if necessary after having obtained legal advice, could rely on a narrower interpretation of the scope of the crime of genocide by the domestic courts, having regard, notably, to the interpretation of the offence of genocide by other authorities.
111. The Court notes in this connection that at the material time the scope of Article II of the Genocide Convention, on which Article 220a of the Criminal Code is based, was contested amongst scholars as regards the definition of “intent to destroy a group”. Whereas the majority of legal writers took the view that ethnic cleansing, in the way in which it was carried out by the Serb forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to expel Muslims and Croats from their homes, did not constitute genocide, a considerable number of scholars suggested that these acts did indeed amount to genocide (see paragraph 47 above).
112. The Court further observes that – even after the applicant committed the impugned acts – the scope of genocide was interpreted differently by the international authorities. It is true that the ICTY, in its judgments in the cases of Prosecutor v. Krstić and Prosecutor v. Kupreškić and Others, expressly disagreed with the wide interpretation of the “intent to destroy” as adopted by the United Nations General Assembly and the German courts. Referring to the principle of nullum crimen sine lege, the ICTY considered that genocide, as defined in public international law, comprised only acts aimed at the physical or biological destruction of a protected group. However, as the judgments of the ICTY – as well as further decisions concerning this subject matter taken by national and international courts, in particular the International Court of Justice (see paragraph 45 above), in respect of their own domestic or international codifications of the crime of genocide – were delivered subsequent to the commission of his offences, the applicant could not rely on this interpretation being taken by the German courts in respect of German law at the material time, that is, when he committed his offences.
113. In view of the foregoing, the Court concludes that, while many authorities had favoured a narrow interpretation of the crime of genocide, there had already been several authorities at the material time which had construed the offence of genocide in the same wider way as the German courts. In these circumstances, the Court finds that the applicant, if need be with the assistance of a lawyer, could reasonably have foreseen that he risked being charged with and convicted of genocide for the acts he committed in 1992. In this context the Court also has regard to the fact that the applicant was found guilty of acts of a considerable severity and duration: the killing of several people and the detention and ill-treatment of a large number of people over a period of several months as the leader of a paramilitary group in pursuit of the policy of ethnic cleansing.
114. Therefore, the national courts’ interpretation of the crime of genocide could reasonably be regarded as consistent with the essence of that offence and could reasonably be foreseen by the applicant at the material time. These requirements being met, it was for the German courts to decide which interpretation of the crime of genocide under domestic law they wished to adopt. Accordingly, the applicant’s conviction for genocide was not in breach of Article 7 § 1 of the Convention.
115. As regards the applicant’s further complaint under Article 7 § 1 that the courts wrongly found that his guilt was of a particular gravity, the Court notes that the applicant’s submissions in this respect are limited to an allegation of factual and legal errors. They disclose neither an appearance of a breach of the said provision nor a breach of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention.
116. Accordingly, the Court concludes that there has been no violation of Article 7 § 1 of the Convention.
FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT UNANIMOUSLY
1. Declares the complaint under Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (d) of the Convention concerning the domestic courts’ taking of evidence inadmissible and the remainder of the application admissible;
2. Holds that there has been no violation of Article 6 § 1 or Article 5 § 1 of the Convention in so far as the applicant complained of the German courts’ lack of jurisdiction to try him on charges of genocide;
3. Holds that there has been no violation of Article 7 of the Convention.
Done in English, and notified in writing on 12 July 2007, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Claudia Westerdiek Peer Lorenzen
Registrar President