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1 Thursday, 16 July 2009
2 [Status Conference]
3 [Open session]
4 [The Appellant Tarculovski entered court]
5 --- Upon commencing at 2.29 p.m.
6 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] The Court is in session. Good
7 afternoon to everyone.
8 Madam Registrar, will you please call the case.
9 THE REGISTRAR: Good afternoon, Your Honour. This is the case
10 number IT-04-82-A, the Prosecutor versus Ljube Boskoski and Johan
11 Tarculovski.
12 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you.
13 Mr. Tarculovski, can you hear and follow the proceedings in a
14 language you understand?
15 THE APPELLANT TARCULOVSKI: [Interpretation] Yes, Your Honour.
16 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Please be seated.
17 Can I now have the appearances starting with the representatives
18 of the OTP.
19 MS. SHIHATA: Good afternoon, Your Honour. My name is Nadia
20 Shihata and I'm appearing on behalf of the Prosecution today with
21 Appeals Counsel Elena Martin Salgado and Case Manager Lourdes Galicia
22 Thank you.
23 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you. Let me now turn to the
24 Defence counsel for Mr. Boskoski.
25 MS. RESIDOVIC: [Interpretation] Good afternoon, Your Honour. For
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1 the Defence of Mr. Boskoski, Guenael Mettraux and Edina Residovic as
2 counsel, and Jesenka Residovic, our legal assistant.
3 Thank you.
4 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you.
5 Mr. Dershowitz, you are now following the proceedings via
6 teleconference, can you hear us well? Can you hear us?
7 [Trial Chamber and Registrar confer]
8 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Can the technicians help us? Is
9 there something to be done to sort this out? Otherwise, we will proceed
10 without having Mr. Dershowitz's participation.
11 [Trial Chamber and Legal Officer confer]
12 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Yes?
13 MR. A. DERSHOWITZ: [Via teleconference] Hello?
14 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Yes, Mr. Dershowitz. Are you able
15 to --
16 MR. A. DERSHOWITZ: [Via teleconference] Hi, this is Alan
17 Dershowitz. I am hearing a translation.
18 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Mr. Dershowitz, you are now
19 following today's proceedings via teleconference. Can you hear us well?
20 I repeat, Mr. Dershowitz, you are now following the proceedings via
21 teleconference. Can you hear us?
22 MR. A. DERSHOWITZ: [Via teleconference] Hello, this is
23 Alan Dershowitz. I am hearing -- hello, this is Alan Dershowitz. I am
24 listening but only in a language that I cannot understand. I am not
25 hearing a translation into English.
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1 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] It might be necessary to make a
2 five-minute break so that the technicians can check everything and solve
3 the problem.
4 MR. A. DERSHOWITZ: [Via teleconference] I can hear you now in
5 English. Hello?
6 --- Break taken at 2.36 p.m.
7 --- On resuming at 2.39 p.m.
8 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Please be seated. Mr. Alan
9 Dershowitz.
10 MR. A. DERSHOWITZ: [Via teleconference] Alan Dershowitz is
11 listening. I'm here on behalf of Johan Tarculovski.
12 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you very much. Pursuant to
13 Rule 65 bis (C) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of this Tribunal,
14 Mr. Tarculovski, on the 29th of June, 2009, filed his written consent
15 that a Status Conference may be conducted with his two counsel, Alan and
16 Nathan Dershowitz, via teleconference, and I note today that Mr. Alan
17 Dershowitz is alone today to represent Mr. Tarculovski.
18 MR. A. DERSHOWITZ: [Via teleconference] Yes, that is true.
19 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] This Status Conference has been
20 convened pursuant to Rule 65 bis (B) and (C) of the Rules of Procedure
21 and Evidence which provides that a Status Conference is convened within
22 120 days of the filing of a Notice of Appeal and thereafter within
23 120 days after the last Status Conference.
24 The main purpose of a Status Conference is to allow any person in
25 custody pending appeal the opportunity to raise issues in relation
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1 thereto, including the mental and physical condition of that person.
2 We last convened on the 18th of March, 2009. I recall that the
3 Trial Chamber rendered its trial Judgement in this case on the
4 10th of July, 2008. I also recall that the Office of the Prosecutor
5 filed their Notice of Appeal on the 6th of August, 2008, and that the
6 Defence of Mr. Tarculovski filed his Notice of Appeal on the
7 8th of August, 2008.
8 I now wish to address the conditions of detention and the health
9 of Mr. Tarculovski.
10 Mr. Tarculovski, do you have any concerns regarding your
11 detention or your health? You have the floor.
12 THE APPELLANT TARCULOVSKI: [Interpretation] I have no complaints,
13 Your Honour. Everything is fine.
14 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you very much. You may be
15 seated. Thank you.
16 I am now going to turn to the scheduling matters regarding the
17 filing of appeals briefs since our last Status Conference.
18 Mr. Tarculovski's Defence counsel filed his notice -- his amended Notice
19 of Appeal on the 2nd of April, 2009. The OTP filed its confidential
20 brief, its response brief to the appeals brief on the 9th of April, 2009
21 and a redacted version thereof of the 16th of April, 2009.
22 Mr. Tarculovski's Defence filed his reply brief on the 24th of April,
23 2009, and a redacted version thereof on the 28th of April, 2009.
24 The Appeals Chamber is currently seized of a motion, a pending
25 motion, filed by Mr. Tarculovski's Defence for provisional release filed
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1 on the 10th of July, 2009. The Office of the Prosecutor filed its
2 response on the 14th of July, 2009. As to the Defence, they filed their
3 reply on the 15th of July, 2009.
4 Let me point out to the parties that this motion is not going to
5 be addressed in today's hearing. The Appeals Chamber will hand down its
6 decision as early as possible.
7 I observe that all of the briefs have been filed. The parties
8 will be informed in due time of a date for the appeals hearing. But I'd
9 like to ask the parties if they have any questions they would like to
10 address during this Status Conference at this stage of the proceedings.
11 Let me first turn towards the representatives of the Office of
12 the Prosecutor.
13 MS. SHIHATA: Your Honour, the only issue we would raise is with
14 respect to the date of the appeals hearing. We would greatly appreciate
15 it if we could be given six weeks' advance notice if at all possible for
16 planning purposes. In addition, as far as dates we might prefer, a date
17 in early October, late November, or early December would be most helpful
18 to us. Thank you.
19 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you. Do Mr. Tarculovski's
20 Defence counsel have any questions?
21 MR. A. DERSHOWITZ: [Via teleconference] We agree that if we could
22 receive six weeks' notice to prepare for this complicated oral argument,
23 we would very much appreciate that as well. As I have previously
24 informed the Court, I am a full-time professor at Harvard Law School
25 teach a large class of first-year students, and I teach on Monday and
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1 Tuesday of every week, and so with the consent of the Prosecution and the
2 agreement of the Court we would very much prefer if it's possible to have
3 oral argument on any Thursday or Friday, that would permit me to travel
4 to The Hague
5 argue on Thursday or Friday.
6 It is possible that I could be there on time for a Wednesday
7 argument, but that would mean that I would have to argue without any
8 sleep, and I would, therefore, prefer if possible a Thursday and a Friday
9 argument. The dates of early October or November or December are
10 completely agreeable to the Defence as well.
11 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Madam Prosecutor, Mr. Dershowitz, I
12 take due note of your observations. As I told you earlier, the date for
13 the appeals hearing is going to be set in due time now that all the
14 briefs have been filed. And rest assured, the observations you made will
15 be taken on board by the Appeals Chamber when it comes to setting the
16 date for the appeals hearing.
17 Do you have any other questions, other questions to raise? I
18 personally have no further points on the agenda. Therefore, I believe we
19 can now adjourn for today. I thank the parties for their participation,
20 and I thank the Tribunal staff for their assistance in organising this
21 conference.
22 The hearing stands adjourned.
23 MR. A. DERSHOWITZ: [Via teleconference] Thank you.
24 --- Whereupon the Status Conference adjourned
25 at 2.49 p.m.