Case No. IT-02-54

Prosecutor v. Slobodan Milosevic

DECISION

THE DEPUTY REGISTRAR,

CONSIDERING Resolution 827 of 25 May 1993 ("Resolution 827"), the Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations decided to " […] establish an international tribunal for the sole purpose of prosecuting persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia […]" to "[…] contribute to the restoration of peace and to this end to adopt the Statute of the International Tribunal" ("Tribunal");

CONSIDERING the Statute of the Tribunal adopted by the aforesaid Security Council Resolution on 25 May 1993, as subsequently amended;

CONSIDERING the "Rules Governing the Detention of Persons Awaiting Trial or Appeal before the Tribunal or otherwise Detained on the Authority of the Tribunal" ("Rules of Detention") as adopted by the Tribunal on 5 May 1994, as subsequently amended;

CONSIDERING Rule 2 of the Rules of Detention which provides that the United Nations "shall retain the ultimate responsibility and liability for all aspects of detention pursuant to these Rules of Detention" and that all detainees shall be "subject to the sole jurisdiction of the Tribunal at all times that they are so detained, even though physically absent from the detention unit, until final release or transfer to another institution";

CONSIDERING that whilst the Rules of Detention ensure the continued application and protection of individual rights of persons in detention, the application of its provisions relating to communication and visits also require that the interests of the administration of justice and the purposes of the Tribunal’s Statute be considered;

CONSIDERING THEREFORE that the Rules of Detention envisage that a balanced weighing of a detainee’s individual rights with that of the institutional duties and obligations of the Tribunal may be called for in certain situations where conflicting interests become apparent;

RECALLING that by Resolution 827, the Security Council expressed "its grave alarm of continuing reports of widespread and flagrant violations of international humanitarian law occurring within the territory of the former Yugoslavia and especially in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including reports of mass killings, massive, organized, and systematic detention and rape of women, and the continuance of the practice of ‘ethnic cleansing’, including for the acquisition and holding of territory" and determined "to put and end to such crimes and to take effective measures to bring to justice the persons who are responsible for them";

RECALLING ALSO that by Resolution 827, the Security Council determined that the establishment of the Tribunal and the prosecution of persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law would contribute to the restoration and maintenance of peace in the former Yugoslavia;

NOTING that Article 29 of the Statute of the Tribunal require States to "co-operate with the International Tribunal in the investigation and prosecution of persons accused of committing violations of international humanitarian law";

NOTING that Mr. Slobodan Milosevic (the "Accused") is presently being tried at the Tribunal for acts allegedly committed while he held high political office in the former Yugoslavia;

NOTING that the Accused is a candidate in Serbian parliamentary elections scheduled to be held on 28 December 2003;

NOTING PARTICULARLY that the Commanding Officer of the United Nations Detention Unit ("Detention Unit") has received reports that the Accused has recently made statements to his political party and supporters, using communication facilities provided by the Detention Unit and with the intention of having these statements subsequently being reported in the media1;

CONSIDERING that Rule 63(B) of the Rules of Detention provides that "[t]he Registrar may refuse to allow a person to visit a detainee if he has reason to believe that the purpose of the visit is to obtain information which may be subsequently reported to the media" in accordance with the proper administration of justice and that it follows from this Rule and the principle on which it is founded, that communication between a detainee and others may be prohibited if there are reasons to believe that such communications would lead to a detainee’s statements appearing in the media, particularly if the effect of such statements is to undermine the Tribunal’s mandate to assist in the restoration and maintenance of peace in the former Yugoslavia;

CONSIDERING that the Accused has, as noted above, previously either directly contacted the media or has used his privilege to communicate with others who have in turn provided messages through the media in contradiction of the Rules of Detention, which have resulted in a widespread media attention and coverage of the fact that an indictee for genocide, crimes against humanity and war-crimes such as the Accused is facilitating, with ease, the ongoing Serbian parliamentary elections campaign;

CONSIDERING that the facilities provided by the Detention Unit are intended for the well- being of the Accused and not for purposes that frustrate the Tribunal’s function to assist in establishing peace and security in the former Yugoslavia and that the fact that a detainee at the Detention Unit has communicated with the aid of facilities provided by the Detention Unit to participate in an ongoing Serbian parliamentary elections campaign is such an occasion that is likely to frustrate the Tribunal’s mandate;

CONSIDERING that in balancing between the rights and entitlements to communication and visits of the Accused with that of the Tribunal to effectively perform its mandate and functions, the particular circumstances of the detainee necessitates the imposition of measures which are imperative for the avoidance of potentially deleterious media coverage resulting from unrestricted communication entitlements and visits for the time being;

DECIDES pursuant to Rules 60 and 63 of the Rules of Detention, for a period of thirty (30) days following this Decision, which decision shall then be reviewed, to:

(i) Prohibit communication, via telephone between the Accused with any person(s) (particularly with the media), such prohibition shall not apply to telephone communication with his immediate family, legal counsel (where applicable), diplomatic or consular representatives on condition that this facility shall not be used in any manner to contact the media;

(ii) All authorised telephone conversations, except for communications with recognised legal representatives (if any) and diplomatic or consular representatives, shall be monitored, in accordance with current Detention Unit practices;

(iii) Prohibit all visits between the Accused with any person(s) (particularly with the media), such prohibition shall not apply to visits with his immediate family, legal counsel (where applicable), diplomatic or consular representatives;

(iv) All authorised visits shall be supervised by the Commanding Officer of the Detention Unit or an official he designates.

(v) The aforesaid restrictions will not apply to written communications wherein the current practices shall be maintained and the Detention Unit’s regulations concerning the import and export of mail shall be adhered to.

 

David Tolbert
Deputy Registrar

Dated this eleventh day of December 2003
At The Hague
The Netherlands


1. The Commanding Officer of the Detention Unit confirmed that a speech made by Mr. Slobodan Milošević from his cell at the Detention Unit was broadcast on 3 Dec 2003 and subsequently reported in the newspapers.