The ICJ ruling on genocide by Croatia and Serbia should be a starting point for genuine reconciliation between the two countries

On 3 February, the International Court of Justice ended a 16-year legal battle between Serbia and Croatia by ruling that neither country was guilty of genocide during the Croatian War in the early 1990s. Denisa Kostovicova writes on the response to the ruling in both countries, and what it means for attempts at reconciliation. She notes that while many of the responses highlighted some of the key problems which have prevented reconciliation from taking place, there are nevertheless some reasons to hope that the ruling could help draw a line under the conflict.