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EPPiSM Baner

No. 3/2026/79 (2026)

Artykuły

Analysis of Perfidy Allegations Against the Victims of the Ovčara Crime. Part 11

Published: 2026-09-30

Abstract

This paper analyses the factual and legal aspects of allegations of perfidy by Croatian fighters, captured in Vukovar Hospital in 1991, against the opposing side. The primary aim of the paper is to establish what actually transpired during the events in question and to assess whether the allegations of perfidious conduct are factually and legally substantiated. To this end, a case study method is employed, using analytical and synthetic methods in the analysis of documents from the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the District Court in Belgrade. The analysis is further substantiated by a critical examination of the relevant rules of international humanitarian law and international criminal law, as well as the views of numerous legal scholars. As the case study reveals the circumstances that preceded and led to the alleged acts of perfidy, the paper also considers the related issue of the denial of quarter. The research shows that – under both treaty and customary international law, as well as prevailing
legal doctrine – the actions of the Croatian fighters did not constitute perfidy. On the contrary, their conduct constituted a desperate attempt to save their own lives without resorting to killing or wounding the opponent, in circumstances marked by the impunity for the war crime – namely, the denial of quarter – previously committed against them by the opposing side.

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