I BASIC PROVISIONS

Ne Bis In Idem Principles and Prohibition of Concurrent Proceedings

Article 8

In the Republic of Serbia criminal proceedings shall not be instituted or conducted against an accused person for the same criminal offence if the International Criminal Court has passed a final judgement on the culpability of the person concerned, nor may any judgement formerly passed by a national court be enforced, relating to the same criminal offence.

Criminal proceedings shall not be instituted or conducted against an accused person for the same criminal offence before the International Criminal Court if the person concerned has been acquitted or convicted by a final judgement in the Republic of Serbia, i.e. relative to whom a ruling on the termination of the criminal proceedings has been passed, except where the requirements contained in Article 20, paragraph 3, of the Statute are met.

In the Republic of Serbia criminal proceedings shall not be instituted or conducted against the same accused person for the same criminal offence if the proceedings for said criminal offence are already ongoing before the International Criminal Court, having been instituted prior to the criminal proceeding in the Republic of Serbia.

Article 19
Challenges to the jurisdiction of the Court or the admissibility of a case
2. Challenges to the admissibility of a case on the grounds referred to in article 17 or challenges to the jurisdiction of the Court may be made by:
(a) An accused or a person for whom a warrant of arrest or a summons to appear has been issued under article 58;
(b) A State which has jurisdiction over a case, on the ground that it is investigating or prosecuting the case or has investigated or prosecuted; or
(c) A State from which acceptance of jurisdiction is required under article 12.

Article 20
Ne bis in idem
1. Except as provided in this Statute, no person shall be tried before the Court with respect to conduct which formed the basis of crimes for which the person has been convicted or acquitted by the Court.
2. No person shall be tried by another court for a crime referred to in article 5 for which that person has already been convicted or acquitted by the Court.
3. No person who has been tried by another court for conduct also proscribed under article 6, 7 or 8 shall be tried by the Court with respect to the same conduct unless the proceedings in the other court:
(a) Were for the purpose of shielding the person concerned from criminal responsibility for crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court; or
(b) Otherwise were not conducted independently or impartially in accordance with the norms of due process recognized by international law and were conducted in a manner which, in the circumstances, was inconsistent with an intent to bring the person concerned to justice.

Article 89
Surrender of persons to the Court
2. Where the person sought for surrender brings a challenge before a national court on the basis of the principle of ne bis in idem as provided in article 20, the requested State shall immediately consult with the Court to determine if there has been a relevant ruling on admissibility. If the case is admissible, the requested State shall proceed with the execution of the request. If an admissibility ruling is pending, the requested State may postpone the execution of the request for surrender of the person until the Court makes a determination on admissibility.