Case No.: IT-02-54-T

IN THE TRIAL CHAMBER

Before:
Judge Patrick Robinson, Presiding
Judge O-Gon Kwon
Judge Iain Bonomy

Registrar:
Mr. Hans Holthuis

Decision of:
28 July 2004

PROSECUTOR

v.

SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC

_________________________________________________

ORDER ON AMICI CURIAE MOTION IN RELATION TO ACCUSED’S DISCLOSURE OBLIGATIONS AND REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL TIME

__________________________________________________

The Office of the Prosecutor

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

The Accused

Mr. Slobodan Milosevic

Amici Curiae

Mr. Steven Kay, QC
Prof. Timothy L.H. McCormack
Ms. Gillian Higgins

 

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 ("the International Tribunal"),

HAVING ORDERED, in its "Order to the Accused on Compliance with Disclosure Obligations", issued on 6 July 2004, as follows:

    1. The Accused will, by 16 July 2004, disclose to the Prosecution and Amici Curiae the identities of all witnesses on the Rule 65 ter (G) witness list, except those for whom the Accused may seek the protective measure of delayed disclosure;
    2. The Accused will, by 16 July 2004, disclose to the Prosecution and Amici Curiae copies of all exhibits on the Accused’s Rule 65 ter (G) exhibit list; and
    3. Should the Accused have difficulty in complying with these orders, he will provide a detailed explanation of such difficulties in writing, by 16 July 2004; and
    4. Should the Accused fail to comply with the above orders, the Trial Chamber will thereafter consider appropriate sanction, including refusal to allow witnesses to be called or exhibits to be tendered,

BEING SEISED OF an "Amici Curiae Motion in Relation to the Accused’s Disclosure Obligations and Request for Additional Time", filed on 16 July 2004 ("Motion"), in which the Amici Curiae seek an extension of 14 days in order for the defence to

  1. Determine whether delayed disclosure protection will be sought in respect of any of the defence witnesses;
  2. Confirm the willingness to testify of those witnesses not yet identified to the Trial Chamber and thereafter to provide their names to the Trial Chamber; and
  3. Serve approximately 5% of the defence exhibits listed, once they are reviewed by the defence team,

HAVING ORDERED the Prosecution to file its response to the Motion by 26 July 2004,

NOTING the confidential "Prosecution’s Response to the Amici Curiae Motion in Relation to the Accused’s Disclosure Obligations and Request for Additional Time", filed on 22 July 2004 ("Response"), in which the Prosecution seeks the following orders:

  1. That the Accused is required forthwith to disclose to the Prosecution copies of all the exhibits in his possession from his initial exhibit list (totalling 1760 exhibits);
  2. That the Accused should disclose all the names and, where possible, dates of birth of the witnesses contained in his Rule 65 ter witness list, save to the extent where he can justify the need for extraordinary protective measure by the appropriate detailed explanations;
  3. That the Accused should provide a formal explanation for the addition of approximately 500 exhibits to his initial list and apply in writing for leave to add those additional exhibits to his exhibit list;
  4. That the Accused should exercise a careful selection of the exhibits that need to be prioritised for translation, according to their level of relevance and that only the relevant excerpts of books should be translated, rather than entire books;
  5. That the Accused should identify the documents he sought from the government of Serbia and Montenegro and the ICJ 2 years ago and provide a precise description of those documents for the Prosecution to provide some assistance, if possible, with the location of those documents.

NOTING that the Prosecution has not objected to the relief sought by the Amici Curiae for 14 days for the Defence to comply with the relevant disclosure obligations concerning witnesses and the 5% of documents as identified,

NOTING the Prosecution’s offer to assist the Accused in locating the documents sought from the Government of Serbia and Montenegro and the International Court of Justice,

REMINDING the Accused that he should be selective in prioritising exhibits for translation in accordance with the order on which he intends rely upon them and, as noted by the Prosecution, only request translation of the relevant excerpts of books or other large documents,

CONSIDERING that orders (1) to (3) sought in the Prosecution Response do not directly arise from the Motion and that, if the Prosecution wishes to make submissions on these other issues, it may do so appropriately in separate applications,

PURSUANT TO Rule 127 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Tribunal

HEREBY GRANTS THE MOTION.

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

__________________
Judge Robinson
Presiding

Dated this twenty-eighth day of July 2004
At The Hague
The Netherlands

[Seal of the Tribunal]