Case No.: IT-99-36-I

BEFORE A JUDGE OF THE TRIBUNAL

Before:
Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti

Registrar:
Mr Hans Holthuis

Decision of:
5 October 2004

THE PROSECUTOR

v.

STOJAN ZUPLJANIN

_____________________________________

ORDER GRANTING LEAVE TO AMEND THE AMENDED INDICTMENT PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 19 OF THE STATUTE AND RULE 50(A)(i)(b) OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE AND EVIDENCE

_____________________________________

The Office of the Prosecutor:

Mrs Carla Del Ponte
Mr Andrew Cayley

 

I, Jean-Claude Antonetti, Judge 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");

HAVING BEEN APPOINTED Reviewing Judge in this case in a confidential and ex parte order of the President of the International Tribunal dated 28 September 2004, pursuant to Rule 50(A)(i)(b) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence ("Rules"),

NOTING the Amended Indictment submitted by the Office of the Prosecutor ("Prosecution") against Stojan Zupljanin, confirmed by Judge Almiro Simões Rodrigues on 17 December 1999 and made public in an order of 13 July 2001,

NOTING the confidential Prosecutor’s Motion for Leave to File a Second Amended Indictment and for Non-Disclosure of Supporting Material until Further Order filed ex parte by the Prosecution on 14 September 2004 ("Motion") to which is appended a second amended indictment against Stojan Zupljanin in Annex A and Annexes B, C and D,

NOTING the confidential Addendum to Prosecutor’s Motion for Leave to File a Second Amended Indictment and for Non-Disclosure of Supporting Material until Further Order filed ex parte by the Prosecution on 29 September 2004 in which the Prosecution requests leave to withdraw the second amended indictment appended to the Motion and substitute it with a revised second amended indictment, appended to the Addendum in Annex A, together with schedules A, B, C, D, E (the revised second amended indictment and its schedules shall be referred to hereafter as "Second Amended Indictment"),

NOTING the confidential Second Addendum to Prosecutor’s Motion for Leave to File a Second Amended Indictment and for Non-Disclosure of Supporting Material until Further Order filed ex parte by the Prosecution on 1 October 2004, to which are appended additional documents in Annex C and a revised list of the incidents and testimony in revised Annex D,

NOTING the confidential Third Addendum to Prosecutor’s Motion for Leave to File a Second Amended Indictment and for Non-Disclosure of Supporting Material until Further Order filed ex parte by the Prosecution on 4 October 2004 in which the Prosecution substituted Annex B appended to the Motion with revised Annex B,

HAVING HEARD the Prosecution on 28, 29, 30 September 2004 and on 1 and
4 October 2004,

CONSIDERING that pursuant to Rule 50(A)(i)(b) of the Rules, the Prosecution may amend the indictment between its confirmation and the assignment of the case to a Trial Chamber, with the leave of the Judge who confirmed the indictment, or a Judge assigned by the President,

CONSIDERING that pursuant to Article 19(1) of the Statute of the Tribunal ("Statute") and Rule 50(A)(ii) of the Rules, the Judge to whom the indictment has been transmitted for review must be satisfied that a prima facie case has been established,

CONSIDERING that, with regard to the Amended Indictment, the Prosecution brings new charges in the Second Amended Indictment against Stojan Zupljanin and, inter alia requalifies some of the charges and withdraws others,

CONSIDERING that the documents presented in support of the new charges and the requalifications were examined,

CONSIDERING that the examination of the documents presented in support of the new charges and requalifications shows that the Prosecution has established a prima facie case against Stojan Zupljanin for the crimes charged in those counts, except with regard to the charges of destruction under Count 11 in the villages of Arapusa (Bosanska Krupa Municipality), Humici (Kluc Municipality), Brdjani (Prijedor Municipality), and Vrhpolje, Trnova and Sasina (Sanski Most Municipality) set out in schedule D appended to the Second Amended Indictment, due to lack of documents,

CONSIDERING that the Motion submitted on 14 September 2004 is "confidential and ex parte",

CONSIDERING however that the proceedings must be as public insofar as possible and that a ruling must therefore be made on the confidentiality issue,

CONSIDERING that the initial Indictment and the warrant of arrest of 17 September 1999 were made public in an order of 13 July 2001,

CONSIDERING that, consequently, this order granting leave to amend the Amended Indictment may be made public,

CONSIDERING nevertheless that, in its Motion, the Prosecution requested that the supporting material to the Second Amended Indictment remain confidential until further order to ensure the safety, confidentiality and integrity of the victims, witnesses, evidence and exhibits in this case,

CONSIDERING that Rule 53(C) of the Rules provides that a Judge may order that there be no disclosure of all or any part of any particular document or information if satisfied that the making of such an order is required to give effect to a provision of the Rules, to protect confidential information obtained by the Prosecution, or is otherwise in the interests of justice,

CONSIDERING that an exception may be justified by the protection of victims and witnesses and that the appropriate measures to this end are provided for in Rule 75 of the Rules,

CONSIDERING in particular that Annexes C and D of the Motion contain information on potential witnesses and that several witnesses will have to request protective measures from the competent Trial Chamber; that under these circumstances the documents listed in Annex C and the names of the witnesses in Annex D, inter alia, should be made confidential in order to maintain the safety of several witnesses,

CONSIDERING that under these circumstances the Second Amended Indictment and the appended schedules may be made public but that a ruling should be made ordering the non-disclosure of the Motion and all the other documents and submissions attached until further order,

FOR THE FOREGOING REASONS,

PURSUANT to Article 19(1) of the Statute and Rules 50(A)(i)(b) and 53(C) of the Rules,

AUTHORISE the Prosecution to amend the Amended Indictment confirmed on 17 December 1999 and to file the Second Amended Indictment, removing the names of the villages for which I found that a prima facie case has not been established,

ORDER the non-disclosure of the Motion and its Annexes, Addendum and any appended documents until further order.

 

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

_____________
Jean-Claude Antonetti
Judge of the International Tribunal

Dated this fifth day of October 2004
At The Hague
The Netherlands

[Seal of the Tribunal]