Dictum of the day, or cut us some slack

Tužena je, također, prihvatila Rezoluciju Vijeća sigurnosti UN-a, broj 1373, i uključila se u borbu protiv svih oblika terorizma, sprečavanja potencijalnih izvršitelja ili saučesnika, pa je to obavezuje na aktivno djelovanje. Naravno, to ne znači da se u toj borbi trebaju kršiti ljudska prava, ali isto tako od tužene, kao mlade države u tranziciji, koja je pod posebnom vrstom protektorata, ne mogu se i ne trebaju tražiti tako visoki standari koje ne mogu ispuniti ni neke druge države s daleko većim stupnjem uređenja pravne države i vladavine prava.

Odluka o prihvatljivosti i meritumu, Dom za ljudska prava, br.  CH/02/8679 i dr., od 11.10.2002., Mišljenje o neslaganju gosp. Mate Tadića kome se pridružuje gosp. Miodrag Pajić    

Dictum of the day, or on vita brevis

The often prolonged delays in the operation of human justice seem to disclose an indifference to the brevity of human existence, to the time of human beings [...] It is high time to bridge the unfortunate décalage between the time of human justice and the time of human beings [...] [E]veryone lives within time, - the existential time of each one. The irreversible passing of time not only leaves its marks in the aging body, but also marks its flow in one’s conscience. Each person is ineluctably linked more to her own existential time (which cannot be changed) than to the space where she lives (which can be changed). Each person lives inevitably within her own time, conscious that it will come to an end. If one’s life-time is marked by injustice and impunity, one is left with the impression, after the occurrence of all the atrocities, that nothing seems to have happened at all. 

Questions relating to the Obligation to Prosecute or Extradite (Belgium v. Senegal), ICJ, 20 July 2012, Separate Opinion of Judge Cancado Trindade, para. 146, 149, 152.

Dictum of the day, or 'nuff said!

What a pity!

Al-Adsani v. The United Kingdom, 35763/97, European Court of Human Rights, 21 November 2001, Dissenting opinion of judge Ferrari Bravo.

Dictum of the day, or on the nature of hatred

...For many of us this means facing the uncomfortable truth that ordinary people are capable of committing genocide. What after all does it take? Perhaps unlike murder it takes a more complete indifference to a portion of humanity. The perpetrator must have the ability to forget that a specific portion of the population, of one's larger community, is human. It takes a consuming indifference to the fate of a member of this group. The very notion of indifference here goes beyond hate. Hate implies relationship, something many in this particular conflict had with neighbors, colleges, in-laws and schoolmates. But these relationships were also destroyed by the dehumanization that some, not all, embraced. While many resisted what they knew to be false, many did not and fell victim themselves to this propaganda. But once a person loses his humanity to indifference, genocide becomes a means to the end.

Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Milorad Trbić, First Instance Verdict, X-KR-07/386, 16 October 2009, para. 794.