©InfoNote for teachers: This material looks at legal processes, specifically following the conflict during the 1990s in the former Yugoslavia. Many people died, and many are still suffering the effects of a long and violent armed conflict. Teachers will find it useful to read the material in advance and be sensitive to the past experiences of students, particularly those whose families, background or personal history brought them into contact with this or any other conflict.
Has a war crime been committed?
It is the job of courts and tribunals to decide that. They do it by looking at evidence.
Here are four examples of war crimes. For each one, think of at least one piece of evidence that might be used to show that the crime had taken place.
- The shelling of civilian areas of a city.
- The use of snipers – highly trained people shooting high-powered rifles from concealed positions – to kill and injure civilians.
- The torture and subjection to cruel and inhumane conditions of those held in detention.
- The execution of thousands of prisoners.
Did you include evidence such as damage to buildings and property, eye-witness statements, notes, letters and documents written at the time? What about mass graves, hospital and mortuary records, videos, photographs and tape recordings of the time?
Discuss material that a court is unlikely to accept as evidence. Talk about propaganda issued by one side in a conflict, statements made much later, hearsay, or second-hand reports passed from one person and told by another. Discuss why, when trying to find out facts, such material is not regarded as reliable.
Talk generally about what evidence is. Concentrate on evidence that shows that a crime was committed, rather than on the involvement of a particular suspect. Is one piece of evidence enough on its own? How many pieces of evidence would courts need to be persuaded? Does it depend on what the evidence is?
Compare different types of evidence with the distinction between primary and secondary sources in history.
Now look at the picture. What is it?
©Info
Download this photo in a powerpoint.
It is known as a ligature, and was used to bind someone's hands. It was found during an exhumation – the removal of human remains from their burial place – in Srebrenica. That is a part of Bosnia and Herzegovina where thousands of bodies were found in mass graves following the conflict in former Yugoslavia.
Why is this evidence? What might it help prove? Think about its presentation in a court. Imagine that defence lawyers were arguing that the graves were of those who died fighting in a war. Might the prosecution use this ligature to suggest something different? What?
Note things about this photograph. See how it has been labelled, with the date and reference numbers. The ruler is there to indicate size. The roll of film and the photo number allow the original to be found and checked.
Think about the care and effort that has gone into this and many thousands of other pieces of evidence. Can you use this example to explain to someone why war crimes trials go on for months and years?
Note: The examples of war crimes above are based on the indictment brought against Ratko Mladić, the former commander of the Bosnian Serb Army. He was arrested at the end of May 2011 and transferred to the UN Detention Unit in The Hague. He is accused of serious war crimes committed against civilians in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1990s. He will be tried by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. This news story forms the background to the activities. However, it is only one example of many trials of people from different sides of different conflicts over recent decades. These educational activities focus on the principles of international humanitarian law, as the laws of war are known, rather than on any individual case. For more on the law and how breaches are tried read this short briefing.
Presumption of innocence
A person is innocent, unless and until they are proved guilty. That widely-recognised legal right operates within war crime trials as well as other respected justice systems.
Explore why it is important, by imagining you have been accused of a criminal offence. Pause, perhaps close your eyes, and bring to mind what it feels like to be accused.
Then read or listen to the following incomplete statements. Your task is to finish them, in your own words, and remembering how you felt when you imagined being accused.
- Although I have been accused, I do not have to prove I am innocent. Someone else has to prove I am guilty. That means I ...
- Although I have been accused, I should be treated with respect and dignity. That means I ...
- Although I have been accused, no one should say or write anything that prevents me having a fair trial. That means ...
Too ill to be tried?
The lawyer for Ratko Mladić argued that he was mentally and physically unfit to stand trial at the tribunal in The Hague. The argument was 
©Inforejected by a Serbian court, opening the way for extradition of Mladić to the Hague.
It is not unusual for those charged with war crimes to suffer ill health. Some are frail through old age. John Demjanjuk was last month found guilty of helping murder 28,000 Jews at a Nazi detention camp. He was 91. In a well publicised case, Slobodan Milošević, defendant at The Hague tribunal, suffered heart problems throughout his four-year trial and died in his cell before the case finished.
Bearing this in mind, do you think that ill health should be a reason not to be tried for a war crime?
Hold a vote within the class or group. But first, to give another dimension to the exercise, each predict how you think the class will vote overall.
Should a person accused of a war crime be excused from facing trial if they are very ill or very old and frail?
For an out-of-class activity, carry out the same opinion survey among friends and family. Discuss the results. Were they entirely predictable, or were there some surprises? What does it say about attitudes to justice? Use the experience of the presumption of innocence activity to add to the discussion. What if you were the accused?
These activities are from newsthink, the news-based education resource. Sign up to receive free news discussions, videos, audio clips and photos every fortnight during term time via email.