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:

9 July 1998

PROSECUTOR

v.

MILAN KOVACEVIC

___________________________________________________________

DECISION ON PROSECUTION MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE MEASURES FOR WITNESS F

____________________________________________________________

The Office of the Prosecutor:

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

Counsel for the Accused:

Mr. Dusan Vucicevic
Mr. Anthony D’Amato

 

THIS 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 ("International Tribunal");

BEING SEISED of the Prosecutor’s Motion for Protective Measures for Witness F ("Motion"), filed on 1 July 1998 by the Office of the Prosecutor ("Prosecution") requesting protective measures for witness F;

NOTING that on 6 July 1998, the Defence stated that it does not oppose the Motion;

NOTING the previous Trial Chamber Decision on Prosecution Motion to Protect Victims and Witnesses, dated 12 May 1998;

CONSIDERING Article 22 of the Statute of the International Tribunal and Rules 75 and 79 of the International Tribunal's Rules of Procedure and Evidence;

CONSIDERING that the relief requested by the Prosecution in the Motion is appropriate for the privacy and protection of the witness but is still consistent with the rights of the accused;

FOR THE FOREGOING REASONS, PURSUANT TO RULES 75 and 79;

HEREBY GRANTS THE MOTION AND ORDERS AS FOLLOWS:

(1)    the pseudonym "F" shall be used whenever referring to the witness in these proceedings and in discussions among parties to the trial;

(2)    the name, address, whereabouts and other identifying information concerning witness "F" shall not be disclosed to the public or to the media;

(3) the name, address, whereabouts of, or other identifying information concerning witness "F" shall be sealed and not included in any of the public records of the International Tribunal;

(4) records of the International Tribunal identifying witness "F" shall not be disclosed to the public or to the media;

(5) to the extent the name, address, whereabouts of, or other identifying information concerning witness "F" is contained in the existing public records of the International Tribunal, that information shall be expunged from those records;

(6)    all hearings to consider the issue of protective measures for witness "F" shall be heard in closed session;

(7) the testimony of witness "F" shall be given in closed session; however, edited recordings and transcripts of the session(s) shall be released to the public and to the media after review by the Prosecution in consultation with the Victims and Witnesses Unit;

(8) the accused, the Defence counsel and their representatives and agents who are acting pursuant to their instructions or requests, shall not disclose the name, whereabouts, or other identifying data concerning witness "F" to the public or media, or to family members and associates, except to the limited extent such disclosure is necessary to investigate the witness adequately;

(9) any such disclosure shall be made in such a way as to minimise the risk of the name of the witness being divulged to the public at large or to the media, including instructing the members of the public to whom the limited disclosure is made that they may not disclose the information except where required adequately to investigate the witness and upon explicit prior approval of Defence counsel;

(10) the accused, the Defence counsel and their representatives and agents who are acting pursuant to their instructions or requests, shall not disclose the name, whereabouts, or other identifying information of witness "F" to Defence counsel or accused in other cases;

(11) the accused, the Defence counsel and their representatives and agents who are acting pursuant to their instructions or requests, shall not approach or contact witness "F" or the relatives of witness "F" for the purposes of conducting interviews;

(10) the public and the media shall not photograph, video-record or sketch witness "F" while this witness is in the precincts of the International Tribunal.

 

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

________________________________

Richard May

Presiding Judge

Dated this ninth day of July 1998

At The Hague

The Netherlands

[Seal of the Tribunal]