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1 Wednesday, 14 July 2010
2 [Open session]
3 [Status Conference]
4 [The appellants entered court]
5 --- Upon commencing at 3.00 p.m.
6 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Good afternoon, everyone.
7 Registrar, could you kindly call the case of the current hearing.
8 THE REGISTRAR: Good morning, Your Honours. Good morning to
9 everyone in and around the courtroom. This is case number IT-98-32/1-A,
10 the Prosecutor versus Milan
11 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you very much.
12 Mr. Milan Lukic, I turn to you to ask you if you can follow the
13 proceedings in a language you understand.
14 THE APPELLANT M. LUKIC: [Interpretation] Yes, I can. I can
15 follow in --
16 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you very much.
17 THE APPELLANT M. LUKIC: [Interpretation] I can -- I understand.
18 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you very much.
19 Mr. Sredoje Lukic, I would like to ask you the same question.
20 Can you understand the proceedings in a language you understand?
21 THE APPELLANT S. LUKIC: [Interpretation] Yes.
22 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you very much.
23 I would now like to turn to the parties and ask them introduce
24 themselves. I would like to start with the Office of the Prosecutor.
25 MR. SCHUSTER: Good afternoon, Your Honour. Matthias Schuster
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1 and Virginie Monchy for the Prosecution, together with our Case Manager,
2 Lourdes Galicia
3 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you very much.
4 I would now like to turn to the Defence counsels or Defence
5 counsel of Mr. Milan Lukic.
6 MR. VISNJIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, my name is
7 Tomislav Visnjic, and I am Defence counsel for Milan Lukic.
8 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you.
9 I would now like that ask the Defence counsel of
10 Mr. Sredoje Lukic to introduce himself.
11 MR. CEPIC: Good afternoon, Your Honour. On behalf of
12 Mr. Sredoje Lukic, myself, Djuro Cepic, as lead counsel. Thank you,
13 Your Honour.
14 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you.
15 As you know, this Status Conference was convened pursuant to
16 Rule 65 bis (B) and (C) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the
17 Tribunal which requires that a Status Conference shall be convened
18 with -- within 120 days following the filing of the notice of appeal, and
19 thereafter within 120 days after the last Status Conference.
20 The main purpose of a Status Conference is to give any person in
21 custody pending appeal to raise issues in relation thereto, including the
22 physical and mental condition of that person.
23 A first Status Conference hearing was held on the
24 13th of November, 2009. We then met for a second Status Conference on
25 the 16th of March, 2010. We are therefore meeting today for the third
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1 Status Conference, as part of the appeals procedure in the present case.
2 I would like to recall the parties that the Appeals Chamber is
3 still seized of three confidential motions written by the Defence of
4 Mr. Milan Lukic - they are dated, respectively, 8th of February, 2010;
5 10th of February, 2010; and 22nd of February, 2010 - in which it is
6 considered to consider granting Milan Lukic the possibility to introduce
7 additional evidence in appeal.
8 I would also like to inform the parties, as I did during our
9 second Status Conference, that the Appeals Chamber will issue its
10 decision on all three motions before the appeals hearing.
11 Lastly, the parties and myself have agreed to hold an appeals
12 hearing in the present case on September 21st, 2010. As agreed, the
13 Appeals Chamber will set an official date of the appeals hearing in due
14 course and will determine the time granted to each party for their
15 submissions.
16 I would now like to turn to the appellants, Mr. Milan Lukic and
17 Mr. Sredoje Lukic, to ask them to seize me with their state of health and
18 detention conditions.
19 I would now first like to turn to Mr. Milan Lukic.
20 Mr. Lukic, do you wish to seize me with any particular concerns
21 with regard to your detention or with regard to your health?
22 THE APPELLANT M. LUKIC: [Interpretation] As for my health, I am
23 quite all right. The only problem that is bothering me is that I am
24 imprisoned and in detention while innocent. And I hope that God will
25 permit justice to be done, and that Risto Savovic and -- Perisic Risto
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1 and Branimir Savovic take our place and sit here, and not for innocent
2 people to be there. And that innocent people should be set free.
3 THE APPELLANT S. LUKIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honours.
4 I have nothing to say. Everything is all right.
5 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you very much,
6 Mr. Milan
7 I would now like to turn to Mr. Sredoje Lukic. Do you have any
8 issue to raise in relation to the detention or to -- in relation to the
9 state of your health?
10 THE APPELLANT S. LUKIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, thank you
11 for allowing me to address you, but I have nothing to raise. Everything
12 is all right. Thank you.
13 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you.
14 And lastly, I would like to ask the parties if they have, at this
15 juncture, any issues which they would like to raise as we sit in this
16 current Status Conference.
17 I would like to ask first the Office of the Prosecutor.
18 MR. SCHUSTER: Your Honour, there aren't any issues we would like
19 to raise at this point, except we would like to indicate, as we've done
20 in the past Status Conference, that if the Appeals Chamber decides to
21 issue an order with questions to the parties, we would appreciate it if
22 we could get that order with the questions about six weeks before the
23 hearing so -- in order for us be prepared and to aid the preparation of
24 the hearing.
25 Thank you.
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1 JUDGE GUNEY: Thank you very much. And we will try to
2 accommodate what you have just been saying, and we will deploy the
3 necessary effort to accommodate your wish. Thank you.
4 MR. SCHUSTER: Thank you, Your Honour.
5 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] I now turn to the Defence counsels
6 of Mr. Milan Lukic. Would you like to raise a particular issue?
7 MR. VISNJIC: [Interpretation] No, Your Honour. Other than what
8 we've already raised in earlier sessions.
9 JUDGE GUNEY: Thank you very much.
10 [Interpretation] I would now like to turn to the representative
11 of the Defence, the counsel of the Defence of Mr. Sredoje Lukic.
12 MR. CEPIC: Thank you very much, Your Honour, for this
13 opportunity. As we previous addressed, we join to the proposal raised by
14 our learned friend Mr. Schuster for the announcement six weeks before the
15 commencement of the oral hearing.
16 With your leave, I would like to also raise two issues. First
17 one is related to the translation of the Judgement in the language which
18 is understandable for my client. Up to now we haven't got received the
19 translation of Judgement in that language. Which has to be, under the
20 Rule 98 ter, under (D). That is the first issue.
21 Second issue is related to the oral hearing. We kindly ask for
22 permission that our legal consultant, Professor Knoops, has opportunity
23 present oral submissions regarding to some specific issues which would be
24 raised from our Defence team.
25 Thank you very much.
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1 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] You may be seated.
2 Thank you very much. I take due note of your concerns and your
3 queries, and I will be able to answer your questions in a due -- in due
4 time.
5 I have no other questions to raise, and I believe that we can
6 adjourn for today.
7 I would like to thank the parties for their participation, and I
8 would also like to thank the staff of the Tribunal for helping us in
9 organising this Status Conference.
10 The hearing is adjourned.
11 --- Whereupon the Status Conference adjourned
12 at 3.14 p.m.
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