Case No. IT-99-36-A

BEFORE THE PRE-APPEAL JUDGE

Before:
Judge Mohamed Shahabuddeen, Pre-Appeal Judge

Registrar:
Mr. Hans Holthuis

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DECISION ON ASSOCIATION OF DEFENCE COUNSEL’S MOTION FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME

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Counsel for the Prosecutor:

Mr. Mark McKeon  

Counsel for the Accused:

Mr. John Ackerman

Association of Defence Counsel:

Chrissa Loukas, Acting President
Joeri Maas, Head of Office

I, MOHAMED SHAHABUDDEEN, Judge of the Appeals 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 ("International Tribunal");

NOTING the Order Appointing a Pre-Appeal Judge, filed on 22 October 2004, in which the President designated me to serve as Pre-Appeal Judge in this case;

NOTING the Decision on Motion to Dismiss Ground 1 of the Prosecutor’s Appeal, rendered on 5 May 2005, which, inter alia, invited the Association of Defence Counsel of the International Tribunal ("Association") to submit an amicus curiae brief addressing the question whether the membership of a joint criminal enterprise must include the physical perpetrators of the crime, and requested that this brief be submitted within thirty days, or by 4 June 2005;

BEING SEISED OF the Association’s Motion for an Extension of Time, which requests an extension until 5 July 2005 on the grounds of a delay in the Registry’s approval of funding and the need for consultations with the members of the Association, since the question at issue will affect the cases of numerous defendants in future cases before the International Tribunal;

CONSIDERING that these reasons constitute "good cause" for an extension of time within the meaning of Rule 127 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence;

CONSIDERING that the extension will not delay the proceedings,¹ and will result in the Appeals Chamber having the benefit of an amicus brief that reflects the considered, consensus view of the Association’s members;

HEREBY GRANT the requested extension of time to 5 July 2005.

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

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Mohamed Shahabuddeen
Pre-Appeal Judge

Dated 3 June 2005
At The Hague
The Netherlands