IN THE TRIAL CHAMBER
Before: Judge Richard May, Presiding
Judge Antonio Cassese
Judge Florence Ndepele Mwachande Mumba
Registrar: Mrs. Dorothee de Sampayo Garrido-Nijgh
Order of: 24 August 1998
PROSECUTOR
v.
MILAN KOVACEVIC
__________________________________________
ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR RETURN OF MATERIALS
__________________________________________
The Office of the Prosecutor:
Ms. Brenda Hollis
Mr. Michael Keegan
Ms. Ann Sutherland
Counsel for the Accused:
Mr. Dusan Vucicevic
Mr. John Ostojic
THE TRIAL CHAMBER
BEING SEISED of a Request For Return Of All Materials Provided By The Prosecution To The Defence Pursuant To Rules 66 And 68 Of The Tribunal Rules Of Procedure And Evidence filed by the Office of the Prosecutor ("Prosecution") on 10 August 1998 ("the Request"),
NOTING the Defence Response to the Request filed on 19 August 1998 ("Response"),
NOTING ALSO the Trial Chambers Order Terminating the Proceedings against Milan Kovacevic, filed 24 August 1998, which reminds the parties that the Orders and Decisions for protection of witnesses issued by the Trial Chamber in this case remain in force, and prohibits the parties from disclosing material which has not been put into the public domain,
CONSIDERING that the Request by the Prosecution that the Defence should return all material disclosed for the purpose of preparation for trial is not in keeping with the usual practice of the Tribunal or domestic jurisdictions,
CONSIDERING ALSO that the Defence was not given notice when the materials were first disclosed that they would be required to be returned in the event that the trial did not proceed for any reason,
CONSIDERING FURTHER THAT it would now be difficult and time-consuming for the Defence to comply with the Request, especially since the Defence may have marked or otherwise annotated the materials,
PURSUANT TO RULE 54 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Tribunal
HEREBY DENIES THE REQUEST.
Done in English and French, the English text being authoritative.
Richard May
Presiding Judge
Dated this twenty-fourth day of August 1998
At The Hague
The Netherlands
[Seal of the Tribunal]