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:
1 July 2005

PROSECUTOR

v.

SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC

_____________________________________________________________________

ORDER TO AMICUS CURIAE TO PREPARE WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS

_____________________________________________________________________

The 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 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 ("International Tribunal"),

Proprio motu,

NOTING the Trial Chamber’s "Order Appointing Amicus Curiae", issued on 22 November 2002, in which the Chamber noted that "it would be in the interests of securing a fair trial for a third amicus curiae with expertise in international law to be appointed", and designated Professor McCormack as an Amicus Curiae for the purposes of (1) making written submissions on and appearing before the Trial Chamber to address questions of international law when requested, and (2) drawing the Trial Chamber’s attention to relevant issues of international law,

NOTING the submissions of the Amicus Curiae on the law of self-defence arising in the Kosovo part of the Prosecution case, in response to a request from the Chamber,1

NOTING that, after the Amicus submitted proprio motu observations noting self-defence issues arising in the Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina parts of the Prosecution case,2 the Chamber ordered him to prepare written submissions for those parts of the case on the same basis as those prepared for the Kosovo part of the case,3 a request which he subsequently fulfilled,4

CONSIDERING that it is appropriate for the Amicus to complete his review of the issue of self-defence by reviewing the evidence presented during the Defence part of the case and preparing submissions with regard to self-defence arising in the Defence case on the same basis as those already submitted for the three parts of the Prosecution case,

NOTING that, on the basis of indications from the Accused, the Kosovo part of the Defence case is near completion,5 and that it would be appropriate for the Amicus to commence work on this matter now, so as to enable him to conclude such work at an appropriate time to be ordered by the Trial Chamber closer to the conclusion of the trial,

PURSUANT TO Rules 54 and 74 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Tribunal;

HEREBY ORDERS AS FOLLOWS:

  1. The Amicus is requested to make such preparations as are necessary to file written submissions on self-defence arising in the Defence case, on the same basis as the Amicus Kosovo Self-Defence Submissions, the Amicus Croatia Self-Defence Submissions, and the Amicus Bosnia Self-Defence Submissions, which were based on evidence adduced during the Prosecution case.

  2. Such submissions shall be filed by dates to be determined by the Trial Chamber in subsequent orders.

 

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

___________________________
Judge Robinson
Presiding

Dated this first day of July 2005
At The Hague
The Netherlands

[Seal of the Tribunal]


1. See generally Prosecutor v. Milosevic, Case No. IT-02-54-T, "Amicus Curiae Submissions on Self-Defence Arising in the Kosovo Part of the Case as Stipulated in Part (A) of the Order of the Chamber to the Amicus of 11 December 2002", 30 October 2003 ("Amicus Kosovo Self-Defence Submissions").
2. Milosevic, "Amicus Curiae Observations Proprio Motu on Relevant Issues of International Law", 21 July 2003.
3. Milosevic, "Order to An Amicus to Prepare Written Submissions", 23 July 2003; "Order on Amicus Curiae’s Request for Separation of and Extension of Time for the Filing of Written Submissions", 5 November 2003.
4. See generally Milosevic, "Amicus Curiae Submissions on Self-Defence Arising in the Croatia Part of the Case as Stipulated in the Order of the Chamber to the Amicus of 23 July 2003", 11 February 2004 ("Amicus Croatia Self-Defence Submissions"); Milosevic, "Amicus Curiae Submissions on Self-Defence Arising in the Bosnia-Herzegovina Part of the Case as Stipulated in the Order of the Chamber to the Amicus of 23 July 2003", 1 March 2004 ("Amicus Bosnia Self-Defence Submissions").
5. See Milosevic, Transcript of Status Conference, T. 38478–38479 (14 April 2005) (the Accused noting that he expected to use between one-third and one-half of his allotted time for presentation of the Kosovo part of his case); Milosevic, "Third Order on the Use of Time in the Defence Case and Decision on Prosecution’s Further Submissions on the Recording and Use of Time During the Defence Case", 19 May 2005, p. 4 (noting that as of the conclusion of court on 18 May 2005, the Accused had used 140 hours 44 minutes, or 39.09%, of the 360 hours allotted to him).