BEFORE THE PRE-APPEAL JUDGE
Before: Judge Fausto Pocar, Pre-Appeal Judge
Registrar: Mr. Hans Holthuis
Order of: 20 February 2001
PROSECUTOR
v.
TIHOMIR BLASKIC
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ORDER GRANTING EXTENSION OF TIME
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Counsel for the Prosecutor:
Mr. Upawansa Yapa
Counsel for the Appellant:
Mr. Anto Nobilo
Mr. Russell Hayman
Mr. Andrew Paley
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 ("the International Tribunal"),
BEING SEIZED of the "Prosecution Request for An Extension of Time" filed on 26 January 2001 ("the Prosecutions Request"), which moves for an extension of three months within which to file its response to the "Appellants Brief in Support of Motion to Admit Additional Evidence on Appeal Pursuant to Rule 115, in Accordance with the Appeals Chambers Decision of 26 September 2000" ("the Appellants Brief in Support of Rule 115 Motion") filed on 19 January 2001, and requests authorisation to file the response by 19 April 2001 in light of the large volume of documentary evidence tendered and the numerous assertions made vis-à-vis the judgement of the Trial Chamber;
NOTING that according to the timetable for the parties to make submissions on the applicability of Rule 115 set out by the Appeals Chamber in its "Decision on the Appellants Motions for the Production of Material, Suspension or Extension of the Briefing Schedule, and Additional Filings"("the Decision") issued on 26 September 2000, the Prosecution should have filed its Response 14 days after the filing of the Appellants Brief in Support of Rule 115 Motion;
NOTING the "Appellants Response to Prosecution Request for an Extension of Time"("the Appellants Response") filed on 7 February 2001, in which the Appellant does not object to the granting of an extension of time but does object to the length of time requested for the extension and submits that an extension until 7 March 2001 should be sufficient for the Prosecution to file its Response;
NOTING the "Prosecution Reply to the Appellants Response to the Prosecution Request for An Extension of Time" ("the Prosecutions Reply") filed on 9 February 2001, which advances, inter alia, the following reasons for an extension:
CONSIDERING that Rule 127 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Tribunal ("the Rules") allows the Appeals Chamber to enlarge or reduce any time prescribed by or under the Rules, on good cause being shown;
CONSIDERING that the reasons advanced show that the Prosecution requires more time for the preparation of a properly considered Response and thus, there is good cause for enlarging the time-limit;
CONSIDERING however that, the extension requested appears to be exceedingly long;
PURSUANT TO Rule 127 of the Rules;
HEREBY ORDERS that the deadline for filing the Prosecutions Response to the Appellants Brief in Support of Rule 115 Motion shall be extended to Monday 19 March 2001.
Done in both English and French, the English text being authoritative.
________________________________
Fausto Pocar
Pre-Appeal Judge
Dated this twentieth day of February 2001
At The Hague,
The Netherlands.
[Seal of the Tribunal]