# Citation format — WCC-BiH

## The four citation modes

### 1. Foundational texts

**Law on the Court of BiH:**
> *Law on the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina*, Official Gazette of BiH No. 49/09 (consolidated text), as amended.

**Criminal Code of BiH:**
> *Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina*, Official Gazette of BiH No. 3/03, as amended, Art. [N].

**SFRY Criminal Code (where applicable):**
> *Criminal Code of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia* (1976), Art. [N] — applied by the WCC-BiH under the *lex mitior* principle following *Maktouf and Damjanović v. BiH* (ECHR, GC, 18 July 2013).

### 2. WCC-BiH judgments and decisions

**General form:**
> *[Case name]*, Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Section I for War Crimes, [Document type], Case No. [Number], [Date], [paragraph/page].

**Chamber designations:**
- **Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Section I for War Crimes** (first-instance trial panel)
- **Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Appellate Division, Section I for War Crimes** (appellate panel)
- For Constitutional Court decisions touching WCC-BiH proceedings: **Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina**

**Document types:**
- **Indictment** (issued by SDWC, confirmed by Court)
- **First-Instance Verdict** (Prvostepena presuda)
- **Second-Instance Verdict** (Drugostepena presuda — appellate judgment)
- **Decision** (Rješenje — procedural decisions)
- **Order** (Naredba — procedural orders)

**Case number format:**
- **X-KR-XX/XX** — first-instance cases
- **X-KRŽ-XX/XX** — appellate cases (KRŽ from "Krivično — Žalba")
- The "XX/XX" portion is typically year/serial number (e.g., **X-KR-05/24** for case 24 received in 2005)

**Worked examples:**

- *Prosecutor's Office of BiH v. Miloš Stupar et al.* (Kravica), Court of BiH, Section I for War Crimes, First-Instance Verdict, Case No. X-KR-05/24, 29 July 2008.

- *Prosecutor's Office of BiH v. Mejakić et al.* (Omarska/Keraterm), Court of BiH, Section I for War Crimes, First-Instance Verdict, Case No. X-KR-06/200, 30 May 2008 (Rule 11 bis case referred from ICTY).

- *Prosecutor's Office of BiH v. Radovan Stanković*, Court of BiH, Section I for War Crimes, First-Instance Verdict, Case No. X-KR-05/70, 14 November 2006 (first Rule 11 bis case at WCC-BiH).

- *Prosecutor's Office of BiH v. Gojko Janković*, Court of BiH, Section I for War Crimes, First-Instance Verdict, Case No. X-KR-05/161, 16 February 2007 (Rule 11 bis case).

### 3. ICTY referral documents

**Rule 11 bis referral decisions:**
> *Prosecutor v. [Defendant]*, ICTY Referral Bench, Decision on Referral of Case under Rule 11 bis, Case No. IT-XX-XX-PT, [Date].

**Worked example:**
> *Prosecutor v. Radovan Stanković*, ICTY Referral Bench, Decision on Referral of Case under Rule 11 bis with Confidential Annex, Case No. IT-96-23/2-PT, 17 May 2005.

### 4. ECHR jurisprudence on WCC-BiH

**Maktouf and Damjanović:**
> *Maktouf and Damjanović v. Bosnia and Herzegovina*, App. Nos. 2312/08 and 34179/08, Judgment, ECHR (Grand Chamber), 18 July 2013, para. [N].

This judgment is **central** to WCC-BiH practice on temporal application of the 2003 vs 1976 Criminal Code.

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## Spellings and diacritics

WCC-BiH names use **BCS diacritics**: č, ć, đ, š, ž. In an English-language work, **preserve the diacritics**. Common names:
- **Sud BiH** = Court of BiH
- **Stupar**, **Janković**, **Mejakić**, **Karadžić**, **Mladić**, **Trbić**, **Stanković**
- **Meddžida Kreso** — first President of the Court of BiH

The names should be spelled correctly with diacritics in formal citations. Where typographical limitations prevent diacritics, document this in a note.

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## Quick reference — institutional milestones

| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| OHR Decision on Court of BiH | 12 November 2000 |
| Law on the Court of BiH adopted by Parliament | 3 July 2002 |
| Court of BiH operational | January 2003 |
| Criminal Code of BiH in force | 1 March 2003 |
| **WCC officially began operations** | **9 March 2005** |
| First Rule 11 bis case tried at WCC-BiH (*Stanković* first-instance verdict) | 14 November 2006 |
| International prosecutors phased out | end 2009 |
| International judges phased out | end 2012 |
| National War Crimes Processing Strategy adopted | December 2008 |
| *Maktouf and Damjanović* ECHR Grand Chamber judgment | 18 July 2013 |

## When the citation cannot be completed

If, after verification, you cannot identify the document type, panel, case number, or date, the citation is not yet a citation. Narrow the claim, or tell the user what is missing.