The ruling handed down on 26 September 1997 by the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court was for the most part upheld on 30 April 1999 by the Federal Court of Justice on appeal. The regional court had sentenced a Bosnian Serb to life in prison for 11 counts of complicity to commit genocide in conjunction with several counts of dangerous bodily harm, deprivation of liberty and/or murder. The federal court considered all of the offences together under the single charge of genocide, but emphasized that the particular seriousness of the crime would affect the sentence. The lower court's application of the principle of universal jurisdiction, which had been the main point of contention in the appeal, was found to comply with international law.

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