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:
7 December 2004

PROSECUTOR

v.

SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC

_________________________________________________

ORDER TO ACCUSED TO PRODUCE A LIST OF HIS NEXT 50 WITNESSES AND FINALISE COMPLIANCE WITH RULE 65 ter OBLIGATIONS REGARDING EXHIBITS

__________________________________________________

The Office of the Prosecutor

Ms. Carla Del Ponte
Mr. Geoffrey Nice

The Accused

Mr. Slobodan Milošević

Court Assigned Counsel

Mr. Steven Kay, QC
Ms. Gillian Higgins

Amici Curiae

Prof. Timothy L.H. McCormack

 

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"),

NOTING the "Omnibus Order on Matters Dealt With at the Pre-Defence Conference", issued by the Trial Chamber on 17 June 2004:

  1. order (3) of which required the Accused "to produce…a list of his first 50 witnesses and the likely order in which they will be called; and, (b) during the course of the proceedings, a weekly list of witnesses to be provided on the last sitting day of each week for the following week’s hearings, these lists to contain the name and Rule 65 ter number of each witness, as well as the estimated time the witness will take in evidence-in-chief"; and

  2. order (9) of which required the Accused "to disclose to the Prosecution copies of all exhibits on his Rule 65 ter list within seven days" (by 24 September 2003),

NOTING the "Order Concerning the Preparation and Presentation of the Defence Case", issued by the Trial Chamber on 17 September 2003, order (3) (b) of which required the Accused, pursuant to Rule 65 ter (G) (ii) of the Rules, to file the "list of exhibits the Accused intends to offer in his case",

NOTING the Trial Chamber’s statement during the Pre-Defence Conference on 17 June 2004, as follows:

The accused must produce documents in court in an orderly manner. If he is producing documents not already exhibited in the case, then sufficient copies should be supplied for the Bench, the Prosecution, and as appropriate, the witness.

And, Mr. Milosevic, you should bear in mind that documents not already translated into English will have to be translated, and so you need to take that into account and ensure that sufficient time is given to enable them to be translated.1

NOTING that, while a list of exhibits was filed by the Accused on 1 June 2004, not all documents listed have been disclosed to the Prosecution and that no translations have been made of certain documents relied upon in examination of the witnesses,

NOTING that the Accused has been producing weekly witness lists in compliance with the Trial Chamber’s order,

NOTING that the Accused has not produced a list of the witnesses he intends to call after the winter recess,

CONSIDERING that it is appropriate for the Accused to produce a list of the witnesses he intends to call in the first three months after the winter recess,

CONSIDERING that it is essential that the Accused clarify his list of proposed exhibits, disclose those proposed exhibits to the Prosecution, and ensure that those proposed exhibits – or, at least, the relevant parts of those proposed exhibits upon which the Accused intends to rely – are normally translated in advance of them being tendered into evidence,

CONSIDERING that it is essential that these matters be resolved immediately in respect of the Kosovo part of the case, but that the Accused should also be endeavouring to resolve the preparation and disclosure of proposed exhibits well in advance of the presentation of evidence on the Bosnia and Croatia parts of the case,

NOTING the Trial Chamber’s "Order Concerning the Preparation and Presentation of the Defence Case", issued on 17 September 2003, in which the Trial Chamber stated that it if "the Accused wishes to add any witnesses or exhibits to his witness list after the Pre-Defence Conference, he must apply to the Chamber for permission to do so showing good cause",2

PURSUANT TO Rule 54 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Tribunal

HEREBY ORDERS AS FOLLOWS:

  1. The Accused shall produce a list of the witnesses he intends to call in the first three months after the winter recess, by Wednesday, 22 December 2004;

  2. The Accused shall file an accurate and definitive Rule 65 ter exhibit list and ensure that the documents on the list concerning the Kosovo part of the defence case are disclosed to the Prosecution, by 10 January 2005;

  3. The Accused shall ensure that documents requiring translation are submitted to the translation service of the International Tribunal sufficiently in advance of the proposed use of those documents in court, and that where appropriate he identifies the parts of documents which require translation so as to enable that translation to occur in a reasonable time; and

  4. The Accused shall comply with the requirements concerning applications to add witnesses or exhibits not on the Rule 65 ter witness and exhibit lists.

 

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

_______________________
Judge Robinson
Presiding

Dated this seventh day of December 2004
At The Hague
The Netherlands

[Seal of the Tribunal]


1. T. 32116.
2. Para. (6): The Chamber referred to Rule 90 (G), and to the fact that the "good cause" requirement is the same as that required by the Prosecution and set out in the Trial Chamber’s "Decision on Prosecution Request for Agreement of Trial Chamber to Amended Schedule of Filings", 18 April 2003.