IN THE TRIAL CHAMBER

Before: Judge Richard May, Presiding

Judge Antonio Cassese

Judge Florence Ndepele Mwachande Mumba

Registrar: Mrs. Dorothee de Sampayo Garrido-Nijgh

Decision of: 1 July 1998

 

PROSECUTOR

v.

MILAN KOVACEVIC

 

___________________________________ 

DECISION ON DEFENCE MOTION TO ISSUE SUBPOENA
TO UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT

___________________________________ 

The Office of the Prosecutor:

Ms. Brenda Hollis
Ms. Ann Sutherland
Mr. Michael Keegan

Counsel for the Accused:

Mr. Dusan Vucicevic
Mr. Anthony D’Amato

 

THE TRIAL CHAMBER,

NOTING the Defence Motion To Issue A Subpoena On The United Nations Secretariat filed on 25 June 1998 ("the Motion"),

NOTING the Judgement on the Request of the Republic of Croatia for Review of the Decision of Trial Chamber II of 18 July 1997, issued by the Appeals Chamber in Prosecutor v. Tihomir Blaskic, Case No. IT-95-14-AR108 bis, on 29 October 1997 ("the Appeals Chamber Judgement"),

NOTING THAT, in the Motion, the Defence has requested the Trial Chamber to compel the United Nations Secretariat to produce certain categories of documents,

CONSIDERING THAT, prima facie, the request appears to relate to matters which are irrelevant to the issues in this case or, if relevant, are so peripheral as not to warrant the issue of a binding order,

CONSIDERING FURTHER that, in view of the various categories of documents being sought, the Motion does not, in principle, conform with the criteria established by the Appeals Chamber Judgement for the issue of binding orders, including the criteria for specificity, relevance and relative ease of execution,

PURSUANT TO RULE 54 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Tribunal

HEREBY DECLINES to consider issuing a binding order at this stage of the proceedings and NOTES as follows:

  1. If the Defence wishes to pursue the matter, Defence counsel should first approach the United Nations Secretariat and request the material from it, providing sufficient information to the Organization to permit it to identify and locate the items sought; and
  2. If the material is not forthcoming, the Defence may raise the matter again before the Trial Chamber, providing full details of the items sought, their relevance to the matter before the Trial Chamber and their known or presumed location, together with written confirmation of the views of the United Nations Secretariat as to their production.

 

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

 

Richard May

Presiding Judge

Dated this first day of July 1998

At The Hague

The Netherlands

[Seal of the Tribunal]