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

Order:
30 June 2005

PROSECUTOR

v.

SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC

________________________________________________

ORDER DIRECTING PARTIES TO CLARIFY THEIR POSITIONS ON ADMISSION OF TRANSLATIONS OF EXHIBITS ADMITTED DURING PROSECUTION CASE AND DECISION ON PROSECUTION MOTION TO ADMIT TRANSLATIONS OF DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EVENTS IN RACAK

________________________________________________

Office of the Prosecutor:

Ms. Carla Del Ponte
Mr. Geoffrey Nice

The Accused:

Mr. Slobodan Milosevic

Court Assigned Counsel:

Mr. Steven Kay, QC
Ms. Gillian Higgins

Amicus Curiae:

Prof. Timothy 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 ("Tribunal"),

Admission of translations of exhibits admitted during Prosecution case

Proprio motu,

NOTING that, during the course of the Prosecution case, the Prosecution tendered as evidence and the Trial Chamber admitted into evidence draft translations of documents,

NOTING that, when an official Conference and Language Services Section ("CLSS") translation has been submitted for an exhibit that already has been admitted, it is necessary for the Trial Chamber to issue an Order regarding the admission of that translation in order for it to be admitted into evidence,

CONSIDERING the following:

  1. where a document has been admitted into evidence with a draft translation or no translation and an official CLSS translation subsequently has been provided, the official CLSS translation should be admitted into evidence on Order of the Trial Chamber;

  2. the Prosecution is the appropriate party to identify each situation where this is the case in respect of documents admitted during the Prosecution case; and

  3. where only an English translation of a document has been provided, it is appropriate for the Prosecution to provide the B/C/S version and for that version to be admitted into evidence,

NOTING that a similar process has been ordered before in this case,1

NOTING that the Trial Chamber, in due course, will order the parties to make similar submissions with respect to currently pending translations of exhibits marked for identification during the Defence case,

Prosecution motion to admit translations of documents concerning events in Racak

BEING SEISED of a "Prosecution Submission of Revised Translations for Documents Concerning Events in Racak", filed 1 June 2005 ("Motion"), requesting, with respect to two Prosecution exhibits and one Defence exhibit, that the Trial Chamber admit into evidence official CLSS translations in place of draft translations that were admitted into evidence,

CONSIDERING that (1) the official CLSS translation of exhibit 156, tab 16 has already been admitted into evidence as exhibit 320, tab 27a; (2) the Prosecution is thus requesting that an exhibit be admitted twice; and (3) the general policy of the Trial Chamber is not to admit a document into evidence that has already been admitted,

CONSIDERING that it is appropriate to admit into evidence the official CLSS translation of exhibit 156, tab 17, but that the original B/C/S version has not been admitted into evidence,

CONSIDERING that it is appropriate for the draft translation of exhibit D4 to be replaced with its official CLSS translation,

PURSUANT to Rules 54 and 89 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the Tribunal,

HEREBY ORDERS as follows:

  1. The Prosecution shall, no later than Monday, 5 September 2005, file a written report ("Prosecution Report")
    1. identifying each situation wherein a document, during the Prosecution case, has been admitted into evidence with a draft translation or no translation and an official CLSS translation ("translation") subsequently has been provided;
    2. identifying the date on which the official CLSS translation was provided to the Registry, parties, and Trial Chamber; and
    3. identifying and attaching any B/C/S documents corresponding to English translations that already have been admitted ("B/C/S documents").

  2. The Defence shall, no later than two weeks after the filing of the Prosecution Report, file in writing any objections to the submissions in the Prosecution Report and any objections to the translations and/or B/C/S documents being admitted into evidence.
  3. In the absence of any objections from the Defence, the translations and B/C/S documents, as identified in the Prosecution Report, shall be admitted into evidence and the Registry of the Tribunal shall include them in the record of the proceedings.
  4. With respect to exhibit 156, tab 16, the Motion is DENIED.
  5. With respect to exhibit 156, tab 17,
    1. the Motion is GRANTED;
    2. the Prosecution shall, no later than seven days from the date of this Order, provide the Registry, parties, and Trial Chamber with the B/C/S version, which will be deemed admitted into evidence upon such provision; and
    3. the Registry shall include the official CLSS translation (Annex B of the Motion, second document) and B/C/S version in the record of the proceedings.

  6. With respect to exhibit D4,
    1. the Motion is GRANTED; and
    2. the Registry shall include the official CLSS translation (Annex B of the Motion, third document) in the record of the proceedings.

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

_____________
Judge Robinson
Presiding

Dated this thirtieth day of June 2005
At The Hague
The Netherlands

[Seal of the Tribunal]


1. "Order Directing the Prosecution to Clarify Its Position on the Admission of Defence Exhibits Tendered During the Kosovo Phase of the Prosecution Case", issued 8 October 2002 (noting that a number of documents tendered by the Accused in the course of the Kosovo phase of the Prosecution case were marked for identification and not admitted, pending further clarification of their status; and ordering that the Prosecution indicate its position with regard to the admission of several exhibits); "Prosecution’s Report to Clarify Its Position on the Admission of Defence Exhibits Tendered During the Kosovo Phase of the Prosecution Case", filed 15 October 2002 (clarifying the Prosecution’s positions on the admission of the Defence exhibits tendered during the Kosovo phase of the Prosecution case); "Decision on Defence Exhibits Tendered During the Kosovo Phase of the Prosecution Case", filed 13 November 2002 (deciding final admission status of the exhibits in question).