Case No.: IT-02-54-T

IN THE TRIAL CHAMBER

Before:
Judge Richard May, Presiding
Judge Patrick Robinson
Judge O-Gon Kwon

Registrar:
Mr. Hans Holthuis

Order of:
21 March 2002

PROSECUTOR
v.
SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC

_________________________________________________

DECISION ON PROSECUTION REQUEST TO FILE CONFIDENTIALLY RULE 65 ter WITNESS AND EXHIBIT LISTS AND WITNESS STATEMENTS REQUIRED BY RULE 66 (A) (ii)

_________________________________________________

The Office of the Prosecutor

Ms. Carla Del Ponte
Ms. Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff
Mr. Geoffrey Nice
Mr. Dermot Groome

The Accused

Slobodan Milosevic

Amici Curiae

Mr. Steven Kay, QC
Mr. Branislav Tapuskovic
Prof. Mischa Wladimiroff

 

THIS TRIAL CHAMBER 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 ("International Tribunal"),

BEING SEISED of a confidential "Prosecution Request to File Confidentially Rule 65 ter Witness and Exhibit Lists and Witness Statements Required by Rule 66 (A) (ii)", filed by the Office of the Prosecutor ("Prosecution") on 18 March 2002 ("the Request"), requesting the following orders pursuant to Rule 75:

  1. that the Prosecution be allowed to file its list of witnesses pursuant to Rule 65 ter (E)(ii) confidentially;
  2. that the Prosecution be allowed to file its list of exhibits pursuant to Rule 65 ter (E)(iii) confidentially;
  3. that the Prosecution be allowed to file its witnesses statements pursuant to Rule 66 (A)(ii) confidentially;
  4. that until such date as the confidential status of this material is lifted, the accused and the amici curiae not to disclose the material to the public except under specific conditions; and
  5. that the accused and the amici curiae keep records of whom the material is provided to and have them sign a non-disclosure agreement,

NOTING that the Rule 65 ter (E)(ii), Rule 65 ter (E)(iii) and Rule 66 (A)(ii) material is to be filed by 30 April 2002,

NOTING the "Decision on Prosecution Motion for Provisional Protective Measures" issued on 19 February 2002 ("the Decision"), the "Decision on Prosecution Motion for Protective Measures for Victims and Witnesses" issued on 19 March 2002 ("the Second Decision") and the "Decision on Prosecution Request for Further Time to Contact Witnesses" issued on 5 March 2002 ("Further Time Decision") taken with respect to the supporting material in the Bosnia Indictment, in which the Trial Chamber ordered:

  1. non-disclosure of the supporting material to the public pursuant to Rule 53 (A);
  2. protective measures for certain identified witnesses pursuant to Rule 69 (A); and
  3. that the Prosecution will have until 5 April 2002 in which to contact witnesses whose statements formed part of the supporting material to enable it to make further specific provisional protective measures applications pursuant to Rule 69 (A),

CONSIDERING that the rights of the accused would not be prejudiced by an order granting the Prosecution request for the following reasons:

  1. the accused will be served with the lists and statements in question in unredacted form, subject to any protective measures orders made by the Trial Chamber;
  2. he will be in a position to disclose that material to the extent that such disclosure is directly and specifically necessary for the preparation and presentation of his case; and
  3. subject to orders for protective measures issued by the Trial Chamber in due course, the material which the Request concerns will be made public in a defined period of time,

CONSIDERING that it would be preferable that the Prosecution determines the protective measures it wishes to seek for witnesses it intends to call in the Croatia and Bosnia parts of the trial as soon as possible,

CONSIDERING that, consistent with the Second Decision, the Trial Chamber does not consider it generally useful to impose on the amici curiae and the accused orders of a nature sought concerning the signing of disclosure agreements and keeping records of disclosure,

PURSUANT TO RULE 75 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Tribunal

HEREBY ORDERS AS FOLLOWS:

  1. When filing its Rule 65 ter (E)(ii), Rule 65 ter (E)(iii) and Rule 66 (A)(ii) material on 30 April 2002, the Prosecution may do so on a confidential basis;
  2. The Prosecution shall make any applications for protective measures it intends to make with respect to witnesses identified in the material to be filed confidentially by 1 June 2002;
  3. Thereafter, subject to any orders made by the Trial Chamber, it shall make all its Rule 65 ter (E)(ii), Rule 65 ter (E)(iii) and Rule 66 (A)(ii) material public;
  4. Until such date as the material in question is made public, the accused and the amici curiae shall not disclose the material to the public, except to the extent that such disclosure by the accused is directly and specifically necessary for the preparation and presentation of his defence, or in the case of the amici curiae, that they satisfy the Trial Chamber that it is necessary for the discharge of their role in assisting the Trial Chamber.

For the purposes of this Decision, "the public" means all persons, governments, organisations, entities, clients, associations and groups, other than the judges of the Tribunal and the staff of the Registry (assigned to either Chambers or the Registry), and the Prosecutor, and the accused. "The public" specifically includes, without limitation, family, friends and associates of the accused, accused in other cases or proceedings before the Tribunal and defence counsel in other cases or proceedings before the Tribunal.

 

Done in English and French, the English text being authoritative.

__________________
Richard May
Presiding

Dated this twenty-first day of March 2002
At The Hague
The Netherlands

[Seal of the Tribunal]