Prosecutor v. Vasiljević

Case Name: 
Prosecutor v. Vasiljević
Document: 
IT-98-32-A (Appeals Chamber Judgement)
Decision Date: 
February 25, 2004
Key Facts: 

Appellant was present for the incidents in the Lukic case. He had been armed with an automatic weapon and was present for the forcible transfer of the victims to the eastern bank of the Drina River, where they were shot. The Appeals Chamber affirmed that appellant was guilty of aiding and abetting.

Elements: 

1. Acts “specifically directed to assist, encourage or lend moral support to the perpetration of a certain specific crime” with a “substantial effect upon the perpetration of the crime”

2. “[K]nowledge that the acts performed by the aider and abettor assist the commission of the specific crime of the principal” (¶ 102)

Key Passages : 

MENS REA: Distinguished aiding and abetting from co-perpetrators in joint criminal enterprises. In the latter, the requisite mens rea is intent to pursue a common purpose (¶ 102).

Tribunal: 
ICTY
Chamber: 
Appeals Chamber