[SCL lecture] Visualising the Mladic trial

In this SCL lecture, we offer a perspective on the trial and the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) through two artistic interventions: the documentary The Trial of Ratko Mladic (Rob Miller and Henry Singer, 2018) and the exhibition Resolution 808 – Inside the Yugoslavia Tribunal (Jorie Horsthuis and Martino Lombezzi). The speakers will shed light on the process and impact of their artistic rendering of the trial and the importance of such visualisations for the legacy and reach of the ICTY more generally.

The final verdict in the case of Ratko Mladić before the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals is scheduled for early June. This trial has a long history and is the subject of many discussions amongst international lawyers as well as local, regional and global communities. The impact of the trial reaches far beyond that what can be explained in the language of the law. To understand the different meanings the ICTY has for different people, we invite you to look at its work through an alternative lens.

Resolution 808 – Jorie Horsthuis and Martino Lombezzi
With the final verdict in the trial against Ratko Mladic, the era of the ICTY will come to an end. With exclusive interviews, images of closed areas and artifacts from the Tribunal archives, the exhibition Resolution 808 enters behind the scenes of this institution. The project stimulates a reflection about the first international tribunal after Nuremberg, and gives the viewers a glimpse into the place where war criminals like Milosevic, Karadzic and Mladic were prosecuted – and where history was made. Additionally, the project takes the audience to the Balkans, where the search for justice and reconciliation is still ongoing and convicted war criminals already start returning to society. 

During this event, Martino and Jorie will build a live dialogue between images and text, presenting the most telling stories they collected.

The Trial of Ratko Mladic – Rob Miller
Filmed over five years with unprecedented access to the Prosecution, the Defense, and the witnesses who came forward to give evidence and General Mladic’s family members, this film tells an epic story of justice, accountability and a country trying to escape from its bloody past. The film premiered at IDFA in 2018, featured in the ‘Special Presentations’ category at Hotdocs, and won the Grierson award for the ‘Best International Documentary’.  

During the event, we will talk with Rob Miller about his motivation for making the film, the process and the impact, especially in light of the final judgment.

When registering for the event, you will also get access to the film The Trial of Ratko Mladic for a 24-hour streaming period around the event.

Speakers

Jorie Horsthuis is a Dutch journalist and political scientist. She writes about post-conflict regions for international media and is specialised in the Balkans. She teaches about international law and journalism at the University of Amsterdam.

Martino Lombezzi is an Italian documentary photographer and historian. He develops projects about memory, identity, history’s remains. He publishes regularly in major Italian and international magazines. www.martinolombezzi.it

Rob Miller began his career working for a human rights organisation before crossing over into documentary filmmaking. He has over twenty years experience of developing and producing documentaries for UK broadcasters. Rob’s BBC series on elderly care, entitled ‘Protecting Our Parents’, was described by the Radio Times as one of the most important ever shown on British television and was nominated for Broadcast, Royal Television Society and BAFTA awards. His most recent feature documentary, ‘The Trial of Ratko Mladic’, which he co-directed with the acclaimed filmmaker Henry Singer, followed the five-year trial of the Bosnian Serb general synonymous with the genocide of over 7000 muslim men and boys in Srebrenica during the Bosnian war of the 1990s.

Moderator:
Dr Sofia Stolk is a researcher at the Asser Institute and the coordinator of the Camera Justitia programme at the Movies that Matter Foundation. Her current research project, entitled ‘Justice needs to be seen to be done: The International Legal Landscape in a Visual Age’, studies the use of visual means within international courts and tribunals and the proliferation of images about international law. She has published about the intersection of art, architecture, culture and international law and frequently organises lectures and events on these themes in cooperation with law schools, cultural institutions and independent artists.

This event is a Supranational Criminal Law (SCL) lecture given in cooperation with the International Humanitarian and Criminal Law Platform. 

About the SCL Lecture Series
The SCL Lecture Series is a series on international criminal law and has been organised, since 2003, by the Asser institute, in cooperation with the Coalition for the ICC and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies of Leiden University. Today’s webinar is moreover co-organised by the International Humanitarian and Criminal Law Platform, which is an inter-faculty research platform on international humanitarian law and international criminal law in which various Dutch and Belgian organisations and universities participate.

Photo courtesy of Martino Lombezzi.