Case No. IT-02-60-T

IN TRIAL CHAMBER I, SECTION A

Before:
Judge Liu Daqun, Presiding
Judge Volodymyr Vassylenko
Judge Carmen Maria Argibay

Registrar:
Mr. Hans Holthuis

Decision of:
16 September 2003

PROSECUTOR

v.

VIDOJE BLAGOJEVIC
DRAGAN JOKIC

__________________________________

DECISION ON PROSECUTION’S UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR TWO DAY CONTINUANCE FOR THE TESTIMONY OF MOMIR NIKOLIC

__________________________________

 

The Office of the Prosecutor:

Mr. Peter McCloskey

Counsel for the Accused:

Mr. Michael Karnavas and Ms. Suzana Tomanovic for Vidoje Blagojevic
Mr. Miodrag Stojanovic and Ms. Cynthia Sinatra for Dragan Jokic

 

TRIAL CHAMBER I, SECTION A, ("Trial Chamber") 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 ("Tribunal"),

BEING SEISED OF the "Prosecution’s Unopposed Motion for Two Day Continuance for the Testimony of Momir Nikolic” filed on 16 September 2003 ("Motion"),

NOTING that Momir Nikolić was added to the Prosecution’s Witness List on 25 June 2003, and that all parties have been informed that Mr. Nikolic would be called to testify in this case upon the trial proceedings resuming after the summer recess,

FINDING that there was more than sufficient time for the Prosecution to complete all interviews and final proofing sessions with Mr. Nikolić and to inform the Defence of any new information arising out of such proofing sessions in advance of him being called to testify,

CONSIDERING that the Prosecution has only disclosed the final notes from its last proofing sessions to the Defence on 16 September 2003, one day before Mr. Nikolic is to testify, and that this information needs to be translated into B/C/S for Defence review,

CONSIDERING that the Defence should not be adversely affected due to the late conclusion of Prosecution proofing sessions and the late disclosure of new information from such sessions,

CONSIDERING therefore that it is in the interests of justice to give the Defence additional time to prepare for the testimony of Momir Nikolić,

REMINDING the Prosecution that all such proofing sessions of witnesses – particularly witnesses whom it expects to testify at length – should be completed in sufficient time to allow the Defence to consider any new information gathered through such sessions,

PURSUANT TO Rule 54 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence on the Tribunal,

HEREBY GRANTS the Motion, and ORDERS that trial proceedings in this case shall resume on Friday, 19 September 2003 at 9:00am in Court Room III, with the testimony of Prosecution witness Momir Nikolic.

 

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

____________
Judge Liu Daqun,
Presiding

Dated this sixteenth day of September 2003
At The Hague
The Netherlands

[Seal of the Tribunal]