This month’s decision by special prosecutors in Montenegro to revisit four war crimes cases from the 1990s offers the most significant opportunity for justice for victims and their families, though experts highlight substantial challenges ahead.

On February 4, the Special State Prosecutor’s Office announced it would reevaluate war crimes that occurred in Morinj, Bukovica, and Kaludjerski Laz, as well as the deportation of refugees from Herceg Novi amidst the violent disintegration of federal Yugoslavia.

As a part of the fragment of Yugoslavia aligned with Slobodan Milosevic’s Serbia, Montenegro was directly involved in the conflicts in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, only seven war crimes trials took place in Montenegro between 1995 and the end of 2020. Of the 37 individuals charged, just 11 were convicted, as reported by Human Rights Action (HRA), a non-governmental organization that oversees war crimes litigation.