In 2009, the Tribunal convicted Florence Hartmann, a French journalist who had served as the spokesperson for the former ICTY Prosecutor Carla del Ponte in 2000-2006.
Hartmann was convicted for the disclosure in her publications some information in violation of two confidential Appeals Chamber’s decisions in the Milosevic case.
She was sentenced to 7000 euro fine.
As Hatmann failed to pay the fine, the Tribunal replaced it with the penalty of 7 days imprisonment and forwarded the arrest warrant to France.
Today, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed that France will not arrest Hartmann.
According to the Ministry, France has the obligation to cooperate with the Tribunal on serious crimes under the Tribunal’s jurisdiction.
As the contempt is not that kind of crime, France has no obligation for cooperation in the Hartmann case.
Indeed, the ICTY has no police force to arrest a person and it has to rely on the States’ cooperation.
Following the France’s approach, there is no chance to have arrested a person charged by the Tribunal with the contempt.
One may recall, that, in 2005, a Croatian reporter Josip Jovic, who also was charged by the ICTY with the contempt, was arrested by the Croatian authorities on the Tribunal’s arrest warrant. Croatia based its decision on the Constitutional Law on Cooperation with the ICTY.
See also Confidential judicial decisions and the right to freedom of expression.