Bosnia Requests Appeal in Serbia Genocide Case

Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday filed a request for an appeal against the International Court of Justice's 2007 verdict which cleared the Serbian state of direct responsibility for genocide in Bosnia during the 1992-95 war.

A team of legal experts led by Sakib Softic, who represented Bosnia during the original case, was seen to enter and leave the International Court of Justice building in The Hague on Thursday afternoon.

However Bosnian Serb politicians strongly oppose the appeal, arguing that it is unconstitutional because it has not been approved by the state-level tripartite presidency.

Bosniak and Serb members of the country's highest institution briefed press from opposing sides on Thursday afternoon after an extraordinary session to debate the topic broke down.

The Bosniak member of the tripartite presidency, Bakir Izetbegovic, insisted the appeal for a review was not unconstitutional.

"I have been accused of causing a crisis, but it's caused by those who have committed aggression, crimes, rehabilitated war criminals," said Izetbegovic.

"The review was launched with the aim of establishing the truth," he added.

But the Serb member of the presidency, Mladen Ivanic, accused Izetbegovic of bypassing state institutions to file the appeal

"We have entered a serious crisis. This is the pinnacle of non-institutional activity," Ivanic told media.

"I myself do not care about the lawsuit, because I am convinced that it will soon be proven that it is not legitimate," he added.

The political row, which has brought into focus the faultlines in Bosnia's current power-sharing system, hinges on whether or not lawyer Softic needed the express authorisation of the country's tripartite presidency to proceed...