Case No.: IT-03-72

THE PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL

Before:
Judge Fausto Pocar, President

Registrar:
Mr. Hans Holthuis

Order of:
6 March 2006

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ORDER ASSIGNING A JUDGE TO CONDUCT AN INQUIRY

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Office of the Prosecutor

Ms. Carla Del Ponte

 

I, FAUSTO POCAR, President of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia Since 1991 ("International Tribunal"),

NOTING that the Registrar of the International Tribunal informed me at 7:21pm on Sunday, 5 March 2006, of the death of Milan Babic between the hours of 6:00pm and 6:30pm while in the custody of the United Nations Detention Unit ("UNDU") in The Hague;

RECALLING that Milan Babic was an accused before this International Tribunal whose sentence of 13 years’ imprisonment was affirmed by the Appeals Chamber on 18 July 20051 and that he was subsequently transferred to serve his sentence;

NOTING that Milan Babic was in the custody of the UNDU since 7 February 2006 for purposes of testifying in the Prosecutor v. Milan Martic2 case;

CONSIDERING that pursuant to Rules 19(A) and 33(A) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Tribunal ("Rules"), the administration and servicing of the International Tribunal is under the authority and supervision of the President;

CONSIDERING that pursuant to Rule 33 of the "Rules Governing the Detention of Persons Awaiting Trial or Appeal Before the Tribunal or Otherwise Detained on the Authority of the Tribunal"3 ("Rules of Detention"), in the event of a death of a detainee in the UNDU, "[t]he President may order an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death […] of any detainee";

HEREBY ASSIGN, pursuant to Rules 19 and 33 of the Rules and Rule 33 of the Rules of Detention, Judge Kevin Parker to conduct an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Milan Babic while in the custody of the UNDU and to report the findings of that inquiry to me directly as soon as is reasonably possible; and

REQUEST the Registry and the Commanding Officer of the UNDU to provide every assistance that is required by Judge Parker for completing the inquiry.

 

Done in English and French, the English version being authoritative.

Done this 6th day of March 2006,
At The Hague,
The Netherlands.

__________________
Judge Fausto Pocar
President

[Seal of the International Tribunal]


1. Prosecutor v. Milan Babic, Case No. IT-03-72-A, Judgement on Sentencing Appeal, 18 July 2005.
2. Case No. IT-95-11.
3. IT/38/Rev. 9, as amended on 21 July 2005.