Radislav Krstic's case as an example of commander's liability

Abstract

The issue of the military order is a very complex one. When giving or executing an order, one should always take into account the necessity to make choices. The decisions taken may in the future imply criminal liability as a consequence of the order that is contrary to legal norms, or executing it. The purpose of the article is to present the problem of giving an order from the perspective of the crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia, with a detailed account of the R. Krstic’s case. The author tried to answer the questions: What is the scope of the commander's liability? Is he liable only for the orders he has given? Does this liability extend to the behavior of his subordinates as well? In the presented article an analysis of selected court cases important from the point of view of the problem of giving an order was carried out. For this purpose, the regulations of International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg were analyzed. Subsequently, an analysis of selected court cases being investigated under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. In conclusion are indicated the regulations of International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the regulations of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.