THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The presiding judge in the appeal by Radovan Karadzic against his genocide and war crimes convictions removed himself from the case Thursday, following a request by the former Bosnian Serb leader’s lawyer. The decision by American Judge Theodor Meron could delay a ruling in the appeal that had been expected before the end of the year at the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals. Meron’s decision follows a ruling removing him and two other judges from the appeal of Karadzic’s former military chief, Gen. Ratko Mladic, for appearance of bias because they had previously convicted lower-ranking Bosnian Serb officers. Mladic was convicted last year of largely the same crimes following a separate trial. Meron appointed Portuguese judge Ivo Nelson de Caires Batista Rosa to replace him on the Karadzic appeal.

Source: National Post September 27, 2018 13:01 UTC