ABSTRACT
Prosecutor v. Dusko Tadic has been the longest-running case in the history of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and has spawned landmark decisions on matters of international criminal law. In his appeal of the May 7, 1997 conviction, Tadic argued that his right to a fair trial had been violated as there was no “equality of arms” between the Prosecution and the Defence due to the circumstances in which the trial was conducted. He also challenged the Trial Chamber’s finding of guilt in the murders of Osman Didovic and Edin Becic. The Prosecutor’s cross-appeal claimed the majority of the Trial Chamber erred when it decided that the victims of the acts ascribed to the accused did not enjoy the protection of the grave breaches regime of the Geneva Conventions. Aside from some questions of fact, the legal grounds invoked by Tadic essentially concerned the charge of breach of the principle of equality of arms.
