Tribunal Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

Page 14582

 1                           Tuesday, 11 January 2011

 2                           [Open session]

 3                           [The accused entered court]

 4                           --- Upon commencing at 9.04 a.m.

 5             JUDGE MOLOTO:  Good morning to everybody in and around the

 6     courtroom.  Mr. Registrar, please call the case.

 7             THE REGISTRAR:  Good morning, Your Honours.  Good morning to

 8     everyone in and around the courtroom.  This is case number IT-04-81-T,

 9     the Prosecutor versus Momcilo Perisic.  Thank you.

10             JUDGE MOLOTO:  Thank you so much.  Could we have appearances for

11     the day, starting with the Prosecution, please.

12             MR. HARMON:  Good morning, Your Honours.  Good morning, counsel.

13     Appearing for the Prosecution today, Mark Harmon, Barney Thomas, and

14     Carmela Javier.

15             JUDGE MOLOTO:  Thank you very much.  And for the Defence.

16             MR. LUKIC: [No interpretation]

17             JUDGE MOLOTO:  We are together in that.  We are getting no

18     interpretation.  So I understood you.

19             MR. LUKIC:  Mr. Perisic Defence today in the courtroom,

20     Boris Zorko, Gregor Guy-Smith, and Novak Lukic.

21             JUDGE MOLOTO:  Thank you so much.  And can I just welcome

22     everybody back for the new year and wish that we can get on to the

23     business of the case and finalise it as soon as possible.

24             Counsel for the Defence, anything to tell us?  Yes, Mr. --

25             MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation] [French on English channel]

 

Page 14583

 1             JUDGE MOLOTO:  Just hold on.  I'm getting French interpretation

 2     now.  Earlier I was getting nothing.

 3             THE INTERPRETER:  Can you hear the English now.

 4             JUDGE MOLOTO:  Now I can hear the English.  Thank you so much.

 5                           [Trial Chamber and Registrar confer]

 6             JUDGE MOLOTO:  Yes.  I can now hear the English, and just for the

 7     record, the Chamber is sitting pursuant to Rule 15 bis today in the

 8     absence of Judge David.

 9             Yes, Mr. --

10             MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation] I ask that we move into private

11     session for a moment, Your Honour.

12             JUDGE MOLOTO:  May the Chamber please move into private session.

13                           [Private session]

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22                           [Open session]

23             THE REGISTRAR:  We're back in open session, Your Honours.

24             JUDGE MOLOTO:  Thank you so much.  Yes, Mr. Lukic.

25             MR. LUKIC: [Interpretation] The Defence of Mr. Perisic has

 

Page 14585

 1     completed its case.  There is a certain number of documents on the

 2     Defence side and on the Prosecution side that have not become exhibits

 3     yet due to technical reasons.  What is most often the case is the fact

 4     that the translations are still pending or there are problems with regard

 5     to uploading the original documents.

 6             We filed a motion yesterday requesting the change of the status

 7     of certain documents.  We have already been in touch with the CLSS, and

 8     we have received assurances the translations would be coming over the

 9     next few days.

10             We have met with the Prosecution and discussed all of these

11     technical matters related to our case.  We also discussed some other

12     topics, and perhaps Mr. Harmon would like to say a few words about what

13     his intentions are now.  However, as regards the MFI status of the

14     documents that I mentioned a moment ago, I suggest that the Trial Chamber

15     give us five days so that the parties sort this out together with the

16     translators.  I believe that by next Monday, we could sort out all the

17     problems related to MFI documents and that we no longer encumber the

18     Trial Chamber or the proceedings with all of that.

19             JUDGE MOLOTO:  Thank you very much, Mr. Lukic.

20             Before I turn over to Mr. Harmon, should the Chamber understand

21     that Mr. Perisic has completed his case to mean that the Defence rests?

22                           [Defence counsel confer]

23             MR. GUY-SMITH:  The answer -- the answer to your question,

24     Your Honour, is yes, with the exception, of course, to the extent there

25     is some evidential matters that need to be attended to, some last-minute

Page 14586

 1     housekeeping matters.  We need to have those -- those matters taken care

 2     of.  But the Defence at this point rests inasmuch as there is no further

 3     testimony that the Defence intends to present to the Chamber at this

 4     time, and the only reason I'm saying that is in order to make sure that

 5     we preserve any rights with regard to the evidential issues that are

 6     outstanding concerning, as Mr. Lukic said, MFIs as well as translations.

 7             I hope that's clear.

 8             JUDGE MOLOTO:  It's confusing even the more.

 9             MR. GUY-SMITH:  I don't mean to be confusing at all.  The Defence

10     rests.  The reason I am raising this is I don't want us to be in a

11     position where we are foreclosed from dealing with some potential

12     MFI issue or some translation --

13             JUDGE MOLOTO:  MFI issues are understood.

14             MR. GUY-SMITH:  Okay.

15             JUDGE MOLOTO:  Obviously if they pass the test they will come in.

16     If they don't they don't --

17             MR. GUY-SMITH:  Of course.

18             JUDGE MOLOTO:  -- but you're not calling -- you're resting.  You

19     are calling no further witnesses.

20             MR. GUY-SMITH:  We are calling no further witnesses.

21             JUDGE MOLOTO:  Thank you so much.  Mr. Lukic, you referred to a

22     motion that was filed yesterday with respect to the status of certain

23     documents, I believe, and I would imagine with respect to that we'll have

24     to await the response from the -- from the Prosecution and then it will

25     take its course.  Thank you so much.

Page 14587

 1             Mr. Harmon.

 2             MR. HARMON:  Your Honour, I have -- I agree with Mr. Lukic.  We

 3     discussed yesterday the issue of the remaining and outstanding MFIs.  If

 4     the parties have a week, we can resolve, I think, amongst ourselves those

 5     issues in large measure, if not in total.  So we -- I agree with the

 6     Defence request --

 7             JUDGE MOLOTO:  Five days.

 8             MR. HARMON:  -- of five days, yes.

 9             JUDGE MOLOTO:  Thank you.  Anything else?

10             MR. HARMON:  Your Honour, I mentioned earlier in the course of

11     the last month or two that we do have one rebuttal witness.  That's --

12     will have to be an issue that we'll have to deal with a scheduling,

13     because it's a delicate -- it's delicate getting this witness here.  I

14     will need some time.  With sufficient lead time and a particular date, I

15     can arrange that I'm quite confident.  We have one additional matter

16     which is in rebuttal but it will be in the form of a written motion that

17     we'll file.  It is to rebut a particular exhibit that was presented by

18     the Defence.  We will submit a written motion requesting that a document

19     rebut or be admitted for purposes of your consideration in rebuttal of

20     that document.  So it's one witness and one motion that remains in our

21     rebuttal case.

22             JUDGE MOLOTO:  With respect to the scheduling of this witness,

23     Mr. Harmon, is it not possible to also take advantage of these five days

24     that the parties are asking for to sort out the MFI documents to be

25     arranged in the scheduling of that witness so that we don't have to start

Page 14588

 1     making arrangements for scheduling only after some five days or after

 2     some two weeks.  We have heard now that the Defence rests but for the MFI

 3     documents.

 4             MR. HARMON:  I'm perfectly amenable to that, Your Honour.  I

 5     agree.  I didn't mean to confuse or mislead the Court.  I can start

 6     making those arrangements now.  Just if I have a date when we're going to

 7     reconvene, then I can schedule him to come here.

 8             JUDGE MOLOTO:  If the Court gave any impression that you were

 9     misleading, the Court is sincerely sorry for that.  That was not the

10     intention.  The intention was just to say that for purposes of

11     expeditiousness, can we just start all these things simultaneously so

12     that those that take longer can slot in the shortest possible time after

13     those that have come in earlier.

14             MR. HARMON:  Yes.  Thank you, Your Honour.

15             JUDGE MOLOTO:  You're welcome.  Anything else that needs to be

16     raised?

17             Okay.  If nothing else is there to be raised, then the Chamber

18     will grant the parties five days during which to look at the MFI

19     documents, and I hope that soon after that, those MFI documents will be

20     placed before the Chamber to look at.  We will be looking at the motions,

21     and we will look at the rebuttal case of the Defence.

22             It does seem as if we cannot postpone to a specific day unless

23     you want to postpone to Monday next week.

24             MR. GUY-SMITH:  I think based upon the conversations we had with

25     the Prosecution yesterday that that might be a bit premature just in

Page 14589

 1     terms of -- of the issue of scheduling.

 2             JUDGE MOLOTO:  Scheduling the hearing.

 3             MR. GUY-SMITH:  Yes.  Yes.  I don't know what Mr. Harmon has in

 4     mind.  I think perhaps what we could do is we could inform -- perhaps

 5     inform the Court by next Monday of what our situation is and where we

 6     stand with regard to the potential rebuttal witness, but I don't know if

 7     that works for the Prosecution or not.

 8             JUDGE MOLOTO:  Well, the five-day break that was requested was in

 9     relation, if I understood you well, with the MFI documents.  I'm

10     anticipating that by next week Monday or so, five days, to be -- for the

11     Chamber to be seized of the MFI documents that the parties are talking

12     about.

13             The scheduling of the --

14             MR. GUY-SMITH:  We agree.

15             JUDGE MOLOTO:  The rebuttal problem, Mr. Harmon indicated he

16     needs some lead time.  He's just going to take advantage of these five

17     days but he might need more than that.  That's how I understood it.

18             MR. HARMON:  Yes, Your Honour.

19             JUDGE MOLOTO:  Okay.  So but for anticipating any submissions by

20     next week, we cannot schedule the hearing.

21             MR. GUY-SMITH:  That is correct.

22             JUDGE MOLOTO:  Then the Court stands adjourned sine die.

23             Court adjourned.

24                           --- Whereupon the hearing adjourned

25                           at 9.19 a.m., sine die.