"Amendment to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence"

1 July 2003

Pursuant to Rule 6 (B), Rule 62 (ii) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (the English and French versions) is amended.

The substantive amendment has been highlighted in the text of this document.

Pursuant to Sub-rule 6 (D), this amendment shall enter into force seven days after the date of issue of this official document, i.e., on 1 July 2003.

The full texts of the amended Rule is set out in the Annex to this document.

___________
Richard May
Judge
Chair of the Rules Committee

Dated this twenty-fourth day of June 2003
At The Hague
The Netherlands

Upon transfer of an accused to the seat of the Tribunal, the President shall forthwith assign the case to a Trial Chamber. The accused shall be brought before that Trial Chamber or a permanent Judge thereof without delay, and shall be formally charged. The Trial Chamber or the Judge shall:

(i) satisfy itself, himself or herself that the right of the accused to counsel is respected;

(ii) read or have the indictment read to the accused in a language the accused speaks and understands, and satisfy itself, himself or herself that the accused understands the indictment;

(iii) inform the accused that, within thirty days of the initial appearance, he or she will be called upon to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty on each count but that, should the accused so request, he or she may immediately enter a plea of guilty or not guilty on one or more count;

(iv) if the accused fails to enter a plea at the initial or any further appearance, enter a plea of not guilty on the accused’s behalf;

(v) in case of a plea of not guilty, instruct the Registrar to set a date for trial ;

(vi) in case of a plea of guilty:

(a) if before the Trial Chamber, act in accordance with Rule 62 bis, or

(b) if before a Judge, refer the plea to the Trial Chamber so that it may act in accordance with Rule 62 bis;

(vii) instruct the Registrar to set such other dates as appropriate.

 

"Amendments to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence"

21 July 2003

By decision of the Judges at the Twenty-eighth plenary session of the International Tribunal held on 17 July 2003, the following Rules of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (“Rules”) are amended:

Rule 62
Rule 65 bis (A)
Rule 65 ter (A)
Rule 73 bis

Pursuant to Sub-rule 6 (D), this amendment shall enter into force seven days after the date of issue of this official document, i.e., on 28 July 2003. Document IT/32/Rev. 28, incorporating both these amendments and the amendment contained in document IT/216, will be issued in both languages as soon as possible.

The full texts of the amended Rules are set out in the Annex to this document, in which the substantive amendments have been highlighted.

___________
Richard May
Judge
Chair of the Rules Committee

Dated this twenty-first day of July 2003
At The Hague
The Netherlands

Upon transfer of an accused to the seat of the Tribunal, the President shall forthwith assign the case to a Trial Chamber. The accused shall be brought before that Trial Chamber or a permanent Judge thereof without delay, and shall be formally charged. The Trial Chamber or the Judge shall:

(i) satisfy itself, himself or herself that the right of the accused to counsel is respected;

(ii) read or have the indictment read to the accused in a language the accused understands, and satisfy itself, himself or herself that the accused understands the indictment ;

(iii) inform the accused that, within thirty days of the initial appearance, he or she will be called upon to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty on each count but that, should the accused so request, he or she may immediately enter a plea of guilty or not guilty on one or more count;

(iv) if the accused fails to enter a plea at the initial or any further appearance, enter a plea of not guilty on the accused’s behalf;

(v) in case of a plea of not guilty, instruct the Registrar to set a date for trial ;

(vi) in case of a plea of guilty:

(a) if before the Trial Chamber, act in accordance with Rule 62 bis, or

(b) if before a Judge, refer the plea to the Trial Chamber so that it may act in accordance with Rule 62 bis;

(vii) instruct the Registrar to set such other dates as appropriate.

(A) A Trial Chamber or a permanent Trial Chamber Judge shall convene a status conference within one hundred and twenty days of the initial appearance of the accused and thereafter within one hundred and twenty days after the last status conference:

(i) to organize exchanges between the parties so as to ensure expeditious preparation for trial;

(ii) to review the status of his or her case and to allow the accused the opportunity to raise issues in relation thereto, including the mental and physical condition of the accused.

Paragraphs (B) and (C) remain unchanged.

(A) The Presiding Judge of the Trial Chamber shall, no later than seven days after the initial appearance of the accused, designate from among its permanent members a Judge responsible for the pre-trial proceedings (hereinafter “pre-trial Judge”).

Paragraphs (B) to (N) remain unchanged.

(A) Prior to the commencement of the trial, the Trial Chamber shall hold a Pre-Trial Conference.

(B) In the light of the file submitted to the Trial Chamber by the pre-trial Judge pursuant to Rule 65 ter (L)(i), the Trial Chamber may call upon the Prosecutor to shorten the estimated length of the examination-in-chief for some witnesses.

(C) In the light of the file submitted to the Trial Chamber by the pre-trial Judge pursuant to Rule 65 ter (L)(i), the Trial Chamber, after having heard the Prosecutor, shall determine set the number of witnesses the Prosecutor may call.

(i) the number of witnesses the Prosecutor may call; and

(ii) the time available to the Prosecutor for presenting evidence.

(D) After having heard the Prosecutor, the Trial Chamber may fix a number of crime sites or incidents comprised in one or more of the charges in respect of which evidence may be presented by the Prosecutor which, having regard to all the relevant circumstances, including the crimes charged in the indictment, their classification and nature, the places where they are alleged to have been committed, their scale and the victims of the crimes, are reasonably representative of the crimes charged.

(E) After commencement of the trial, the Prosecutor may, if he or she considers it to be in the interests of justice, file a motion to reinstate the list of witnesses or to vary the decision as to which witnesses are to be called. the number of crime sites or incidents in respect of which evidence may be presented or the number of witnesses that are to be called or for additional time to present evidence and the Trial Chamber may grant the Prosecutor’s request if satisfied that this is in the interests of justice.

(E) After having heard the Prosecutor, the Trial Chamber shall determine the time available to the Prosecutor for presenting evidence.

(F) During a trial, the Trial Chamber may grant the Prosecutor's request for additional time to present evidence if this is in the interests of justice.

The compiled version of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (IT/32/REV.28, 28 July 2003) is available on the website of the Tribunal under “Basic Documents”.