Prosecutor v. Vladimir Lazarevic
Case No IT-05-87-PT
DECISION
PARTLY CONFIDENTIAL EX PARTE
THE DEPUTY REGISTRAR,
NOTING the Statute of the Tribunal as adopted by the Security Council under Resolution 827 (1993), and in particular Article 21 thereof;
NOTING the Rules of Procedure and Evidence as adopted by the Tribunal on 11 February 1994, as subsequently amended, and in particular Rule 45 thereof;
NOTING the Directive on Assignment of Defence Counsel as adopted by the Tribunal on 28 July 1994, as subsequently amended ("Directive"), and in particular Articles 6, 7, 8, 11(A)(ii) and 14 thereof;
NOTING the Code of Professional Conduct for Counsel Appearing Before the International Tribunal (IT/125 REV.1);
CONSIDERING that Vladimir Lazarevi} ("Accused") was transferred to the seat of the Tribunal on 3 February 2005 and that on or about that date he applied for the assignment of Tribunal-paid counsel on the basis that he did not have sufficient means to remunerate counsel;
CONSIDERING that on 4 February 2005, acting pursuant to the Article 11(B) of the Directive, the Deputy Registrar assigned Mr Mihajlo Bakrač, attorney at law from Belgrade, as counsel to the Accused for a period of 120 days, determining that an interim assignment of counsel was necessary to ensure that the Accused’s right to counsel was not affected while the Registry examined his ability to remunerate counsel;
CONSIDERING that on 25 February 2005 the Accused submitted a declaration of means to the Registry pursuant to Article 7(B) of the Directive;
CONSIDERING that Mr Bakra~’s assignment was extended on two occasions pending the completion of the Registry’s inquiry into the Accused’s ability to remunerate counsel;
CONSIDERING that the Registry has now examined the information provided by the Accused in his declaration of means and has completed its inquiry into the Accused’s means pursuant to Article 10(A) of the Directive;
CONSIDERING that the Accused was given an opportunity to comment on the findings of the Registry’s inquiry into his means before the Registry made its final determination on his ability to remunerate counsel;
CONSIDERING that pursuant to Article 8(B) of the Directive, the eligibility of an accused for legal aid is determined by taking into account means of all kinds of which he has direct or indirect enjoyment or freely disposes, including but not limited to direct income, bank accounts, real or personal property, pensions, and stocks, bonds, or other assets held, but excluding any family or social benefits to which he may be entitled, that in assessing such means, account shall also be taken of "the means of the spouse of a suspect or accused, as well as those of persons with whom he habitually resides, and that account may also be taken of the apparent lifestyle of a suspect or accused, and of his enjoyment of any property, movable or immovable, and whether or not he derives income from it;
CONSIDERING that the Registry determines the eligibility of an accused for legal aid in accordance with Article 8 of the Directive and the "Registry Policy for Determining the Extent to which an Accused is able to Remunerate Counsel" ("Registry Policy") which is attached as Appendix II to this decision;
NOTING that under the Registry Policy, the Registry first determines the disposable means of an applicant for legal aid and then deducts from the disposable means the estimated living expenses of the Accused, his family and dependents during the estimated period in which the applicant will require representation before the Tribunal, the amount remaining being the contribution to be made by the applicant to the costs of his defence;1
CONSIDERING that the equity in the Accused’s principal family home is included in his disposable means to the extent that the principal family home exceeds the reasonable needs of the Accused and the persons with whom he habitually resides as determined under Article 8(B) of the Directive and Section 5(a) of the Registry Policy; 2
CONSIDERING that the equity in the principal family vehicles of the Accused’s household is included in his disposable means to the extent that the vehicles exceed the reasonable needs of the Accused and the persons with whom he habitually as determined under Section 5(c) of the Registry Policy;3
CONSIDERING that the Accused currently receives a monthly pension;4
CONSIDERING that the Accused’s spouse does not receive any income;5
CONSIDERING that the Accused’s son Marjan receives a monthly salary;6
CONSIDERING that the salaries of the Accused and the Accused’s son are included in the Accused’s disposable means in accordance with Article 8(B) of the Directive and Section 7 of the Registry Policy;
CONSIDERING that in accordance with the Registry Policy, the estimated living expenses of the Accused and the persons with whom he habitually resides during the estimated period in which the Accused will require Tribunal-paid representation are deducted from his disposable means, the amount remaining being the contribution to be made by the Accused to his defence costs;7
CONSIDERING that in determining the extent to which the Accused is able to remunerate counsel, the Registry applies the formula in Section 11 of the Registry Policy, which reads:
DM – ELE = C
Where:
DM represents an applicant’s disposable means as calculated under Sections 5-8 of the Registry Policy.
ELE represents the estimated living expenses of an applicant, his spouse, his dependants and the persons with whom he habitually resides as calculated under Section 10 of the Registry Policy.
C represents the contribution to be made by an applicant to his defence.
CONSIDERING that by applying the formula DM – ELE = C, the Accused’s contribution is
$17,200 and that as such, he is able to remunerate
counsel partially;8
NOTING that as of today’s date, the costs of the Accused’s defence before the Tribunal at the pre-trial stage (excluding the costs of necessary travel and Daily Subsistence Allowances) are estimated at $218,480;
NOTING that as of today’s date, it is not possible to accurately estimate the costs of the Accused’s defence before the Tribunal at the trial stage;
DECIDES in light of the foregoing and in accordance with Article 11(A)(ii) of the Directive, that the Accused is able to remunerate counsel in part and that he shall contribute $17,200 to the costs of his defence before the Tribunal;
DECIDES that with the exception of the Accused’s contribution of $17,200 the expenses referred to in Articles 22, 26 and 27 of the Directive shall be borne by the Tribunal;
DECIDES without prejudice to Article 18 of the Directive and pursuant to Article 11(A)(ii) of the Directive to assign Mr Mihajlo Bakra~ as counsel to the Accused permanently, effective as of the date of this decision;
INFORMS the Accused and his counsel that the Accused’s contribution of $17,200 will be deducted from legal aid allotments paid to his defence team in a manner to be agreed upon by the Registry and the Accused’s counsel.
_______________
John Hocking
Deputy Registrar
Dated this twenty-first day of February 2006
At The Hague,
The Netherlands.