Before: Judge Fausto Pocar, Pre-Review Judge

I, FAUSTO POCAR, Judge of the Appeals 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,

NOTING the "Ordonnance portant nomination d’un juge de la mise en état en révision" issued by the Appeals Chamber on 5 November 2001, which designated Judge Pocar as the Pre-Review Judge;

BEING SEISED of the "Prosecution’s Request on Motion for Review" filed by the Office of the Prosecutor ("Prosecution") on 15 October 2001 ("Request of 15 October") and of the "Motion to Exceed Page Limit of Prosecution’s Response to ‘Motion for Review of the Convictions of Dusko Tadic set out in the Judgements of the Trial Chamber (IT-94-1-T) and of the Appeals Chamber (IT-94-1-A)’" filed by the Prosecution on 1 November 2001 ("Request of 1 November"),

NOTING the "Motion for Review of the Convictions of Dusko Tadic set out in the Judgements of the Trial Chamber (IT-94-1-T) and of the Appeals Chamber (IT-94-1-A)" filed confidentially by counsel for Dusko Tadic ("Defence") on 5 October 2001 ("Motion");

NOTING that the Prosecution seeks an extension of time and an extension of the page limit for the filing of its Response if the Appeals Chamber should determine that the "Practice Direction on Procedure for the Filing of Written Submissions in Appeal Proceedings Before the International Tribunal" (IT/155) of 1 October 1999 ("Practice Direction on Submissions in Appeal"), and the "Practice Direction on the Length of Briefs and Motions" (IT/184) of 19 January 2001 (together "Documents") are applicable to the case at hand;

NOTING that no references have been made in the Documents as to their applicability in the review proceedings;

CONSIDERING, however, that in order to assure fair and expeditious processing of the matter, it is in the interest of justice that the Practice Directions be applied, mutatis mutandis, to the instant case;

NOTING that the Prosecution filed confidentially its "Prosecution Response to ‘Motion for Review of the Convictions of Dusko Tadic set out in the Judgements of the Trial Chamber (IT-94-1-T) and of the Appeals Chamber (IT-94-1-A)’" on 6 November 2001 ("Response"), which is thirty-one days from the filing of the Motion, notwithstanding that in the Request of 15 October the Prosecution requested thirty days;

CONSIDERING, however, that Article 14 of the Practice Direction on Submissions in Appeal provides, inter alia, that "StChe Appeals Chamber or a bench of three Judges of the Appeals Chamber may vary any time-limit prescribed under this Practice Direction or recognise as validly done any act done after the expiration of a time-limit so prescribed";

NOTING the length of the Response is seventeen pages, which exceeds the ten page entitlement for the filing of a Response by the Prosecution;

CONSIDERING that Article (C)7 of the Practice Direction on the Length of Briefs and Motions states that a party seeking authorisation to exceed the prescribed page limits "must provide an explanation of the exceptional circumstances that necessitate the oversized filing";

CONSIDERING that the reasons adduced in Request of 1 November, in the light of the particular circumstances of the case at hand, justify a limited extension of the prescribed page limits;

NOTING that Article 11 of the Practice Direction on the Submissions in Appeal provides, inter alia, that "StChe moving party may file a reply within four days of the filing of the response";

CONSIDERING, however, that in the light of the time used by the Prosecution in the preparation of its Response and the size thereof, it would be unfair to expect a reply within four days of the filing of the Response and limited to the page limits provided by the Practice Direction on the Length of Briefs and Motions;

THEREFORE, in the particular circumstances of this case, I hereby authorise the filing of the Response and direct the Defence that, if need be, a reply, not exceeding the pages used by the Prosecution in its Response, may be filed by Wednesday 21 November 2001.

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

Dated this sixth-day of November 2001
At The Hague,
The Netherlands.