THIS 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 Appeals Chamber" and "the International Tribunal" respectively),

NOTING Trial Chamber I’s Judgement against Goran Jelisic, pronounced on 19 October 1999, acquitting him of the crime of genocide (Count 1) but declaring him guilty of certain violations of the laws or customs of war and certain crimes against humanity;

NOTING the "Prosecution’s Notice of Appeal", filed on 21 October 1999, stating that "StChe grounds of appeal will be on matters of law, including procedure, and fact in regard to the acquittal of Goran Jelisic on Count 1 of the Indictment" ("the Prosecutor’s Notice of Appeal");

NOTING the "Notice of Cross-Appeal", filed by Counsel for Goran Jelisic ("the Defence") on 26 October 1999, "from (1) the Judgement of the Trial Chamber delivered orally on 19 October 1999: and (2) that certain PROSECUTION’S NOTICE OF APPEAL, dated 21 October 1999, should such Notice be deemed to be sufficient";

NOTING Trial Chamber I’s written Judgement against Goran Jelisic, issued on 14 December 1999, in which the Trial Chamber gave its reasoned opinion for the previous pronouncement of the non-guilty and guilty verdicts and sentenced Goran Jelisic to 40 years’ imprisonment in respect of the latter;

NOTING the "Notice of Appeal", filed by the Defence on 15 December 1999, "against the sentence and Judgement pronounced on the 14^th day of December 1999";

NOTING the "Prosecution Motion for Clarification of the Right of the Appellant Goran Jelisic to File Two Notices of Appeal and for a Scheduling Order in Relation to the Appeal" ("the Prosecutor’s Motion), filed on 20 December 1999, in which the Prosecutor challenges, inter alia, the right of the Defence to appeal against Goran Jelisic’s acquittal on the count of genocide;

NOTING the Appeals Chamber’s Scheduling Order of 14 January 2000 ("the Scheduling Order of 14 January 2000"), in which the Chamber ordered, inter alia, that the Defence shall file a response to the Prosecutor’s Motion by Friday 21 January 2000, to which the Prosecutor had the option of filing a reply within four days of the filing of the response;

NOTING the "Response to Prosecution Motion Filed 20^th. December 1999", filed by the Defence on 21 January 2000 ("the Defence’s Response"), in which the Defence, inter alia, contends that it is entitled to appeal against Goran Jelisic’s acquittal on the count of genocide and requests that the Appeals Chamber issues an "order striking out the Prosecution’s Notice of Appeal dated 21^st. October 1999" on the ground that the Prosecutor has "failed properly to comply with the terms of Rule 108 as it then stood";

NOTING the "Prosecution Reply to Defence’s ‘Response to Prosecution Motion Filed 20^th December 1999’" ("the Prosecutor’s Reply"), filed untimely on 28 January 2000, in which the Prosecutor replies to the substantive arguments of the Defence and, in addition, requests, pursuant to Rule 127 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence ("the Rules"), the Appeals Chamber to vary the time-limit fixed in the Scheduling Order of 14 January 2000 with regard to the filing of the Prosecutor’s Reply;

NOTING the "Response to Prosecution Motion Filed 28^th. January 2000", filed by the Defence on 31 January 2000, in which the Defence, inter alia, opposes the Prosecutor’s requests pursuant to Rule 127 for a variation of the time-limit fixed in the Scheduling Order of 14 January 2000;

NOTING the Appeals Chamber’s Scheduling Order of 7 March 2000, in which the Chamber orders that the Appellants’ Briefs under Rule 111 shall be filed no later than 15 May 2000;

CONSIDERING in respect of the Defence’s request for an order "striking out" the Prosecutor’s Notice of Appeal that the relevant version of Rule 108 required that the appealing party, not more than fifteen days from the date on which the judgement was pronounced, file its notice of appeal with the Registrar and serve it upon the other party;

CONSIDERING that it is not in dispute that the Prosecutor herself never served her Notice of Appeal upon the Defence, but that the Prosecutor’s Notice of Appeal was served upon the Defence, within the time-limit set out in Rule 108 then in force, through the Registry;

CONSIDERING that the practice of the International Tribunal has been for the Registry to undertake the task of serving any notices of appeal upon the other party once the document has been filed;

CONSIDERING that the Defence has suffered no material prejudice as a result of this practice;

CONSIDERING with regard to the Prosecutor’s request pursuant to Rule 127 for a variation of the time-limit fixed in the Scheduling Order of 14 January 2000 that the Prosecutor has shown "good cause" within the meaning of that provision and that, therefore, the filing of the Prosecutor’s Reply may be recognised as validly done pursuant to Sub-rule 127(A)(ii);

CONSIDERING in respect of the Prosecutor’s challenge to the right of the Defence to appeal against the acquittal of Goran Jelisic that under Article 25 of the Statute of the International Tribunal an acquitted person has no right of appeal from acquittals and that the Prosecutor alone has that right;

CONSIDERING, however, that, if the Prosecutor in her Appellant’s Brief relies on a particular ground to reverse the acquittal, the Defence in its Respondent’s Brief may seek to support the acquittal on additional grounds;

For the foregoing reasons, the APPEALS CHAMBER

1) DENIES the request of the Defence for an order "striking out" the Prosecutor’s Notice of Appeal and HOLDS the Prosecutor’s Notice of Appeal cognisable;

2) GRANTS the Prosecutor’s request pursuant to Rule 127 for a variation of the time-limit fixed in the Scheduling Order of 14 January 2000 and RECOGNISES the filing of the Prosecutor’s Reply as validly done; and

3) ORDERS the Defence in setting out the grounds of appeal in its Appellant’s Brief under Rule 111 not to raise arguments relating to the acquittal of Goran Jelisic on the count of genocide.

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

________________________________
Mohamed Shahabuddeen
Presiding

Dated this twenty-first day of March 2000
At The Hague,
The Netherlands.