Case No. IT-02-54-T

Prosecutor v. Slobodan Milosevic

DECISION

THE DEPUTY REGISTRAR,

CONSIDERING the Statute of the Tribunal as adopted by the Security Council under Resolution 827 (1993), and in particular Articles 20 and 21 thereof;

CONSIDERING the Rules of Procedure and Evidence as adopted by the Tribunal on 11 February 1994, as subsequently amended, and in particular Rules 44 and 45 thereof;

CONSIDERING the Directive on Assignment of Defence Counsel ("Directive"), as adopted by the Tribunal on 28 July 1994, as subsequently amended, and in particular Article 19 thereof;

CONSIDERING the Code of Professional Conduct for Counsel Appearing Before the International Tribunal (IT/125 REV.1) ("Code of Conduct"), and in particular Article 9 thereof;

NOTING the Trial Chamber’s oral Order of 2 September 2004, by which "[p]ursuant to the Chamber’s decision to assign counsel, the Registrar is instructed to appoint counsel for the accused" and "should endeavour in the first instance to secure the appointment of Mr. Kay and Ms. Higgins";

NOTING the Deputy Registrar’s Decision of 3 September 2004, assigning Mr. Steven Kay, QC, attorney at the Bar of England and Wales, as lead counsel for Mr. Slobodan Milosevic ("Accused"), and Ms. Gillian Higgins, attorney at the Bar of England and Wales, as co-counsel for the Accused ("Court Assigned Counsel");

NOTING the request submitted to the Registrar on 26 October 2004 by Court Assigned Counsel to withdraw from their respective positions ("Request"), and the Deputy Registrar’s Decision of 27 October 2004 referring the Request to the Trial Chamber for its consideration;

NOTING the Appeals Chamber’s "Decision on Interlocutory Appeal of the Trial Chamber’s Decision on the Assignment of Counsel" of 1 November 2004, in which the Appeals Chamber affirmed the Trial Chamber’s assignment of defence counsel, but reversed its "Order on Modalities" of 3 September 2004;

NOTING the "Assigned Counsel’s Motion for Withdrawal with Annex A" of 8 November 2004, by which Court Assigned Counsel "request withdrawal from their current position under the provisions of Article 19 of the Directive";

NOTING the hearings that took place from 9 to 11 November 2004, in which the Trial Chamber heard submissions on the matter from Court Assigned Counsel, the Accused, and the Prosecution;

CONSIDERING the Trial Chamber’s "Decision on Assigned Counsel’s Motion for Withdrawal" of 7 December 2004 ("Decision"), in which the Trial Chamber held that "the presence of assigned counsel is essential to ensure the fair and expeditious conduct of the proceedings" and that it is "in the plain interest of justice that counsel should remain assigned to the Accused and should not be permitted to withdraw";

CONSIDERING further that in its Decision, the Trial Chamber determined that "the application by court assigned counsel to withdraw from their assignment should be denied and instructs the Registrar, pursuant to his powers under Article 19 of the Directive, to deny the application";

CONSIDERING that the Registry is not satisfied that it is in the interest of justice to withdraw the Court Assigned Counsel pursuant to Article 19(A) of the Directive;

CONSIDERING that Court Assigned Counsel remain subject to their obligations under the Tribunal’s Rules and Regulations, in particular the Directive and the Code of Conduct;

HEREBY DECIDES to deny the Request and confirms Mr. Kay and Ms. Higgins’ assignment as Court Assigned Counsel for the Accused.

 

______________
John Hocking
Deputy Registrar

Dated this fourteenth day of December 2004
At The Hague,
The Netherlands.