(CNN)Serbian forces committed egregious violent acts against ethnic Croatians in the early 1990s, but they don't equate to genocide, a U.N. court ruled Tuesday. The 153-page ruling from the International Court of Justice means that modern-day Serbia will not have to pay restitution to Croatia, which in 1991 split from what was then Yugoslavia. The decision relates only to the two national governments' responsibility to one another, not the culpability of any individuals for targeting members of an ethnic group. Such individual cases are handled by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), another U.N. court. "Croatia has not established that the only reasonable inference that can be drawn from the (Serbians') pattern of conduct ... was the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Croat group," the International Court of Justice (or ICJ) ruled. "... It follows ... Croatia has failed to substantiate its allegation that genocide was committed."A U.N. court finds that Serbian forces did commit large-scale killings, other violent actsBut there's not enough evidence showing intent to commit genocide, the court rulesThe same court dismisses Serbia's counterclaim that Croatia committed genocide
This all relates to what happened in the 1990s, in the bloody aftermath of _ splintering into separate nations. In fact, several Serbians have been charged with genocide, though none yet specifically tied to actions inside _. For example, the ICJ found Serbian and allied forces responsible for a "large number of killings" that disproportionately affected _, "which suggests that they may have been systematically targeted."