B. Michael Kirgov Being The Head Of Rotania And Gommel Vinitsa Being a Colonel Of Rotania Do Not Enjoy Any Immunity From The Prosecution.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone³⁰ articulated this principle in the case against Charles Taylor, the Head of State of Liberia in 2004 finding that “the nature of the offences assists in determining the circumstances in which exceptions to immunity would be extended or denied”. Charles Taylor was charged with high crimes, namely, “terrorizing the civilian population of Sierra Leone, unlawful killings, sexual and physical violence, use of child soldiers, abductions, forced labor, looting, burning, and attacks on peacekeepers and humanitarian assistance workers”. The Special Court for Sierra Leone considered these facts to be a cogent reason for instituting criminal proceedings against the Head of the State. In the case at hand Michael Kirgov and Gommel Vinitsa committed serious international crimes, including crimes against humanity, war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian law. Therefore, Michael Kirgov and Gommel Vinitsa must be rendered their immunities.

Apart from this, an analogy can be drawn between the present case and the situation concerning the Al Dujail Trial against Saddam Hussein³¹. In the year 2005, the former President of Iraq and other former Iraqi officials, who were close to Saddam Hussein, were brought to trial, Special tribunal in Iraq. The defendants were charged with killing, forced expulsion, the imprisonment of people, torture and the failure to comply with international law. The defendants pleaded not guilty. The Court, on the contrary, decided that all eight defendants were guilty and sentenced them to death penalty. Consequently, the legal practice recognizes bringing the high authorities inter alia the President, the Vice Minister to responsibility.

Furthermore, following the logic applied by the Court in the case France v. Moammar Gadhafi³², the serving head of the state cannot avoid prosecution for committed crimes. In that case Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was brought to justice before the French Court for terrorist bombing of French airliner over Niger in 1989, which killed 170 people. In 1999, six Libyans, including Moammar Gadhafi were sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for the bombing of the DC-10.

Finally, the last case that illustrates the principle of bringing the leaders of states to justice is the Dragomir Milošević’s case³³. The Tribunal on Former Yugoslavia found Dragomir Milošević, a former Bosnian Serb Army general, guilty of a range of crimes committed against civilians during the final months of the 1992-1995 siege of Sarajevo. The Trial Chamber sentenced him to 33 years’ imprisonment.

C. Adova Possessed a Right To Exercise Jurisdiction Over Michael Kirgov And Gommel Vinitsa.

The applicant would like to exercise its own jurisdiction over Michael Kirgov and Gommel Vinitsa, because the crimes were committed against Adovan citizens. In some states there exists a principle of security and protection on national level, which provides that the state is entitled to bring to account on its territory and in accordance with its laws any person, suspect or accused of a crime against the interests of this state or against interests of the state’s citizens outside its territory. Therefore, the application of the principle of security and protection makes it possible and consistent with international law to prosecute Michael Kirgov and Gommel Vinitsa by Adovan court.

Moreover, international case law explicitly confirms this principle. For instance, the case against Antonio Noriega, a commander of the Panamian Defense Forces, was heard in the Florida Southern District Court of the USA. On February 4, 1988, a federal grand jury for the Southern District of Florida indicted Manuel Antonio Noriega on drug-related charges. At that time, Noriega served as commander of the Panamanian Defense Forces in the Republic of Panama. On December 15, 1989, Noriega publicly declared that a state of war existed between Panama and the United States. Within days of this announcement by Noriega, President George Bush directed United States armed forces into combat in Panama for the stated purposes of "safeguard[ing] American lives, restor[ing] democracy, preserv[ing] the Panama Canal treaties, and seiz[ing] Noriega to face federal drug charges in the United States. Noriega surrendered to United States military officials on January 3, 1990 and then was brought to Miami to face the pending federal charges³⁴.

From the above we can conclude that the practice of prosecuting citizens of one country in another country exists, and such practice provides a firm basis for proving Adova’s right to prosecute Michael Kirgov and Gommel Vinitsa.