Belgrade - Yugoslavia's Constitutional Court yesterday scrapped a government decree providing for the handover of suspects to the UN war crimes tribunal, leaving the country with no legislation on cooperation with the tribunal.
"The decree on procedures of cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal is not in accordance with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and with the law on criminal procedure," the court said in a statement. Yugoslav authorities have insisted such legislation is necessary for citizens to be handed over to the war crimes court. The decree was passed by the federal cabinet in June to clear the way for the transfer of former president, Mr Slobodan Milosevic, and other suspects after legislation regulating cooperation with the court failed to get through parliament.
It was immediately suspended by the Constitutional Court when Mr Milosevic's lawyers filed a complaint. The court ruled the decree should not be implemented until its judges had ruled on whether the measure was in accordance with the constitution. But ministers in Serbia took matters into their own hands and handed Mr Milosevic over to tribunal on June 28th.