The International Court of Justice has dismissed a case filed by Serbia and Montenegro that accused eight NATO countries of genocide for the 1999 airstrike campaign against Yugoslavia.
The court in the Hague, which is the top legal body of the United Nations, ruled Wednesday it has no jurisdiction in the case. It said that at the time of the airstrikes, the jurisdiction of Serbia and Montenegro was not a U.N. member and thus not a party to the court's statute.
The unanimous court decision involved Belgrade's complaint against Belgium, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal. NATO initiated the airstrike campaign in response to the Kosovo crisis, forcing Serbian and Yugoslav troops out of the Serbian province.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.
