Sarajevo 1914: Trial process against Young Bosnia: Illusion of the fair process

Abstract

The authors in the work deal with the trial process against members of the Young Bosnia for the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie Chotek in Sarajevo 1914. That issue attends scientific and lay public attention over the hundred years. Authors divided their article into few parts. After the introductory remarks they explain conditions in the country before the assassination, especially problem of the Bosnia and Herzegovina's annexation and its ratification within the Austro-Hungarian legislation. After that, they remind on the ultimatum that the Dual Monarchy referred to Serbia, which was not accepted, but which 'caused' the First World War. The main part of the work is dedicated to the criminal proceeding against the Young Bosnians. They analyze criminal procedure in that time, behavior of the participants, especially president of the judicial council, and defense attorneys, which was shameful, except the defense of the Dr. Rudolf Cistler. Consequently, he had borne numerous negative consequences after the judgment.

Autori u radu razmatraju suđenje pripadnicima Mlade Bosne za ubistvo austrougarskog prestolonaslednika Franca Ferdinanda i njegove supruge Sofije Hotek u Sarajevu 1914. godine, budući da to pitanje i nakon više od sto godina zaokuplja pažnju stručne i laičke javnosti. Autori su rad podelili u više celina, jer je nakon uvodnih razmatranja bilo nužno prikazati uslove u državi pre atentata, a prevashodno problem aneksije Bosne i Hercegovine i njene ratifikacije u okviru austrougarske legislative. Nakon toga su u kratkim crtama podsetili na ultimatum koji je Dvojna monarhija uputila Srbiji, koji nije prihvaćen, posle čega je došlo do izbijanja Prvog svetskog rata. Centralni deo rada autori su posvetili krivičnom postupku protiv Mladobosanaca, analizirajući tadašnji postupak, ponašanje učesnika, a pogotovo predsednika sudećeg veća i branilaca okrivljenih, gde je jedina hvale vredna odbrana pripadala dr Rudolfu Cistleru, usled čega je snosio mnogobrojne negativne posledice nakon okončanja postupka.