Release date: March 2, 2007

Law Professor Influential in International Landmark Case

Contact: Timothy Hussey, 404-712-8404, tim.hussey@law.emory.edu
Contact: Elaine Justice, 404-727-0643, elaine.justice@emory.edu

Emory University law professor Tibor Varady played a critical role in the International Court of Justice's recent ruling on the Bosnia genocide case. On Feb. 26, the court ruled that Serbia had failed to prevent the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica during the Bosnian war, but was not guilty of genocide. The 14-year-old case brought by Bosnia against Serbia was the first time the United Nation's highest court had dealt with a genocide charge against a country.

Born in Serbia, Varady was forced to leave for Hungary in 1993 because of violence. He attended Harvard Law School and became a full professor at Emory Law School in 1999. After the fall of Slobodan Milošević as leader in 2000, the new Serbian leaders asked Varady, who had remained in good contact with Serbian opposition, to lead the counsel on this case.

In the case, Bosnia accused Serbia of masterminding a genocide through widespread "ethnic cleansing" during the 1992-95 war that left more than 200,000 people dead.

In its ruling, the ICJ found only one act of genocide, the massacre at Srebrenica of nearly 8,000 Muslims by Bosnian Serb troops, but couldn't prove strict intent by the Serbian state. The court did rule, however, that Serbia had failed in its responsibility under the 1948 genocide convention to try and prevent the killings.

As defense counsel for Serbia-Montenegro, Varady's first goal was to show the court that the case was on the wrong track. After 14 years and many political changes, there were issues of jurisdiction that compromised the case.

"When an individual is responsible, there is a clear path for blame, but when the responsibility falls upon the state—and the many different ethnicities that make up that state—the right path of blame isn't as clear," says Varady.

The court, based in The Hague, Netherlands, includes 15 judges representing different countries in the United Nations. The panel of judges had been deliberating on the case since May 2006, after nine weeks of hearings.

"Now that the case is over, I hope those at fault express proper regret regarding what happened in Sbrebrenica," says Varady.

Varady teaches courses each spring semester on international commercial arbitration and international business transactions at Emory Law School. He spends the rest of the year in Hungary.

Emory University is one of the nation's leading private research universities and a member of the Association of American Universities. Known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities, Emory is ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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