Case No. IT-01-48-PT

CONSIDERING the Statute of the Tribunal as adopted by the Security Council under Resolution 827 (1993), and in particular Article 21 thereof;

CONSIDERING the Rules of Procedure and Evidence as adopted by the Tribunal on 11 February 1994, as subsequently amended, and in particular Rules 44 and 45 thereof;

CONSIDERING the Directive on Assignment of Defence Counsel (hereinafter "the Directive") as adopted by the Tribunal on 28 July 1994, as subsequently amended, and in particular, Articles 6, 8, 10, and 16 thereof;

CONSIDERING that on 21 August 2003, Mr. Ahmet Hodzic, assigned counsel to Mr. Sefer Halilovic (hereinafter "the accused") by a decision of the Registrar dated 18 February 2003, requested the assignment of Mr. Guenaël Mettraux, Attorney at law from Lausanne, as co-counsel for the accused;

CONSIDERING that there is currently no co-counsel assigned to the accused;

CONSIDERING that on the basis of Article 16 (C) of the Directive, the Registrar may assign a second counsel to assist the lead counsel in the interests of justice;

CONSIDERING that Mr. Mettraux meets the requirements for assignment as set forth in Article 14 of the Directive;

CONSIDERING FURTHER that Mr. Mettraux is a former staff member, specifically

an Associate Legal Officer in Chambers of the International Tribunal since 1999;

CONSIDERING that under Article 14 of the Code of Professional Conduct for Defence Counsel Appearing before the International Tribunal (hereinafter "the Code of Conduct"):

alignCounsel shall not represent a client in connection with a matter in which counsel participated personally and substantially as an official or staff member of the Tribunal or in any other capacity, unless the Registrar determines, after consultation with the parties and taking account the views of the Chamber, that there is no real possibility shown that a conflict between the former and present assignment exists;

CONSIDERING that on 25 August 2003, the Office of the Prosecutor confirmed that it had no objection to the assignment of Mr. Mettraux as co-counsel and that on 28 August 2003, the members of Trial Chamber III, seized of the case, also confirmed that they had no objection to the assignment of Mr. Mettraux, provided Mr. Mettraux formally resigned as a staff member before being assigned;

CONSIDERING that the Registrar is satisfied that that his previous employment as a staff member at the International Tribunal does not conflict with his assignment as co-counsel to the accused;

CONSIDERING that in a letter addressed to the Registrar on 31 July 2003 Mr. Mettraux pledged to act with integrity and fairness in the representation of his client;

CONSIDERING that Mr. Mettraux submitted his notice of resignation on 4 September 2003 to take effect on 9 September 2003 and that the Acting Chief of Human Resources accepted his notice of resignation and the terms thereof;

DECIDES to assign Mr. Mettraux as co-counsel for the accused effective as of 10 September 2003.

__________
Hans Holthuis,
Registrar

Dated this ninth day of September 2003
At The Hague
The Netherlands