Case No. IT-04-74-PT

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I, Jean-Claude Antonetti, Judge 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 ("Tribunal");

NOTING the Statute of the Tribunal;

NOTING the Rules of Procedure and Evidence ("Rules");

NOTING Rule 65 ter of the Rules;

NOTING the Order by the Presiding Judge of Trial Chamber II of 31 October 2005 designating me as the pre-trial Judge in the Prlic et. al. Case (IT-04-74-PT);

CONSIDERING that the Indictment was confirmed on 2 March 2004; that the initial appearance was on 6 April 2004; that the pre-trial commenced almost 17 months ago;

CONSIDERING that to this day, for various reasons, the procedure is not in trial; that new lawyers have been designated; that presently one accused does not have a lawyer;

CONSIDERING that the trial is scheduled to begin in February 2006 and that renovation of the courtroom is soon to begin;

CONSIDERING that, given the above-outlined situation, it is advisable to expedite the pre-trial procedure while respecting the rights of the parties;

CONSIDERING that, to this effect, the pre-trial Judge, who was designated several days ago, must acquaint himself with all the filings since the confirmation of the indictment;

CONSIDERING that Trial Chamber II must make decisions on a number of motions not dealt with by the Trial Chamber to which the case was initially assigned;

CONSIDERING that the status conference of 8 November 2005 enabled the pre-trial Judge to recognise that there are a number of issues unresolved to this day which require urgent decisions if the trial is to commence as scheduled;

CONSIDERING that the case, which consolidates six accused, their counsel and 26 counts in the Indictment, requires highly efficient treatment or else the pre-trial phase will be paralysed;

CONSIDERING that, given the proximity of the trial, the pre-trial Judge is to put in place a number of measures;

CONSIDERING that, on a number of these measures, the pre-trial Judge should be able to take decisions himself as to whether certain motions are well founded without consulting the other Judges of the Chamber;

CONSIDERING that the pre-trial Judge, in accordance with the wishes of the Tribunal to expedite trials, especially by greater efficiency during the preliminary phase, must personally see to it that the trial is being prepared expeditiously;

CONSIDERING that, to this effect, the Rules allow for this kind of action by assigning to a Trial Chamber all the functions pursuant to Rule 73 of the Rules;

CONSIDERING that this assignment nevertheless remains within the powers of the Trial Chamber pursuant to Rule 65 ter(M) of the Rules which allows it proprio motu to exercise any of the functions of the pre-trial Judge;

HEREBY ORDER Trial Chamber II to delegate all the functions pursuant to Rule 73 of the Rules.

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Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti
Trial Chamber II Pre-trial Judge

Done this ninth day of November 2005
At The Hague
The Netherlands