A unique war crimes trial began in Norway on Wednesday. A Bosnian-born man accused of committing war crimes against 18 Serb civilians during the 1992-1995 Bosnia war appeared in an Oslo court. His appearance marks the first war crimes trial in Norway since World War II. The proceedings will focus on whether Norway's new war crimes legislation can be applied retroactively.

Charges
Mirsad Repak stands charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and rape. According to the prosecution most of the crimes were committed in the Dretelj detention camp in Southern Bosnia, which was known for the brutality of its guards.

Repak pleaded not guilty to the most serious charges. He insisted that he was only following orders. Repak could face up to 21 years in prison. The trial is expected to last eight weeks.

Mirsad Repak (42), a former member of a Croatian paramilitary organisation, came to Norway in 1993 as an asylum seeker and obtained Norwegian citizenship in 2001.

The court will have to decide whether the Norwegian judicial system has the right to try a person who did not hold Norwegian citizenship at the time the alleged crimes were committed.

New laws
Norway introduced new war crimes legislation in March this year, enabling war crimes trials to be held in Norwegian courts even if the case concerned took place outside the Norwegian borders. The new laws cover crimes against humanity, genocide and terrorism. This is the first war crimes case to be heard in Norway since the Nazi tribunals held after the end of World War II.

Unfair
Repak's lawyer, Heidi Bache-Wiig, said before entering the courtroom that her client "suffered after what he had to do and what he was ordered to do, and it has haunted him ever since." "In big conflicts like this one, we should content ourselves with apprehending the decision makers and most senior officials. We never manage to catch them all and it's perhaps unfair to just go after the little soldiers."

She called for the case to be thrown out, arguing that the Norwegian constitution prohibits a new law from being applied prior to its enactment.

The prosecutor, on the other hand, argued that the Norwegian parliament had taken that factor into account by adopting the law with a clause stipulating that it could be applied retroactively.

Norwegian media have reported that around 100 war crimes suspects are believed to be residing in Norway. Most are either fugitives from the wars that split up Yugoslavia in the 1990s or from the Rwandan genocide in 1994. With this trial, the Norwegian government aims to demonstrate that Norway is no haven for war criminals.

International Crimes Law in the Netherlands
Crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide and torture are punishable in the Netherlands since 1 October 2003. The Law International Crimes follows from the Statute of Rome and the International Criminal Court (ICC). Although not stipulated in the Statute, a large number of ICC members have over the last years penalised crimes that fall under the authority of the ICC in their own national legislation and apply the new laws to crimes committed outside the national borders.

The Dutch justice system is authorised to prosecute crimes such as deportation, torture, disappearance, persecution, extermination and slavery, even if they have taken place outside the Netherlands by persons with a non-Dutch nationality. The only requisite is that the suspect is in the Netherlands. The law cannot be applied retroactively. Heads of state and diplomats cannot be prosecuted under this law.

Written by: Lula Ahrens