THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- The International Court of Justice Monday began a landmark hearing into a case of state-supported genocide tabled by Bosnia Herzegovina against Serbia.
Belgrade stands accused of committing genocide against Bosnia's Muslim population during the civil war that wracked the Balkans in the beginning of the 1990s. More than 200,000 people died during the three-year-long conflict.
This is the first time the U.N. court, set up in the aftermath of the Second World War, has heard a case of state-sponsored genocide brought on by another country.
Although it can build its case on evidence from the war crimes trial against the former Serb President Slobodan Milosevic, which is also taking place in The Hague, Bosnia may fall short of evidence to prove Belgrade's involvement in ethnic cleansing. Most known war criminals were Bosnian nationals from the Republika Srpska, an autonomous region within the Bosnian federation.
The hearings are scheduled to end on May 9 with a final verdict expected before the end of the year. If Serbia and Montenegro is found guilty, Bosnia will be in a position to claim billions of dollars in damage and compensation.
