| Press Release |
TRIBUNAL
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| (Exclusively for the use of the media. Not an official document) |
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The Hague, 5 November 2010
NJ/MOW/1369e
ICTY Delivers First Transcripts in Local Languages to Serbia
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The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia today delivered a first set of trial transcripts produced in local languages to the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor as part of a project that aims to enhance the capacity of judiciaries in the region to handle complex war crimes cases.
The War Crimes Justice Project is a 4-million euro regional project funded by the European Union and carried out by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in partnership with the ICTY, the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, and OSCE field operations.
Until now, the trial transcripts were available only in English and French, the official languages of the ICTY.
“I have said on numerous occasions how regrettable and unfortunate it is that these transcripts are not available in the national languages of the countries concerned. I am thus very pleased that the War Crimes Justice Project is providing us with the opportunity to set that right,” said Judge Patrick Robinson, the President of the Tribunal.
The Tribunal consulted national authorities to select the most relevant trial hearings for transcription. It has also taken into account similar work already done by the Humanitarian Law Centre, a Serbian non-governmental organisation.
The first set of transcripts sent to Serbia, totalling some 400 pages, was produced as a matter of priority after a request made by the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor. Other transcripts are expected to be delivered in late November to the authorities of Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In September, the Tribunal delivered 500 pages of transcripts to the Croatian authorities. The Tribunal will produce a minimum of 60,000 transcript pages in local languages as part of the War Crimes Justice Project.
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For more information on the War Crimes Justice Project please visit http://www.icty.org/sid/240
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War Crimes Justice Project Partners |
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 This project is funded by the European Union |
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