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 1                           Tuesday, 3 March 2009

 2                           [Further Initial Appearance]

 3                           [Open session]

 4                           [The accused entered court]

 5                           --- Upon commencing at 2.23 p.m.

 6             THE REGISTRAR:  Good afternoon, Your Honours.  This is the case

 7     number IT-95-5/18-PT, the Prosecutor versus Radovan Karadzic.

 8             JUDGE BONOMY:  We sit as a Bench rather than as an individual

 9     Pre-Trial Judge today, because in the course of the morning we received

10     an application or motion from the accused which does have a bearing on

11     the purpose of today's hearing, which is a further appearance.

12             The first two things I'm required to do, however, in connection

13     with a first -- with a further appearance I shall deal with before moving

14     on to deal with the motion.

15             Mr. Karadzic, can you confirm to me that you again appear and

16     represent yourself?

17             THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes.

18             JUDGE BONOMY:  And that you are fully aware of your right to be

19     represented by counsel?  And I raise the question that way because of the

20     provisions of Rule 62.  You are fully aware, are you, of your right to

21     have counsel if you so wish?

22             THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes, I'm fully aware of that, and

23     I'm also aware of my right to represent myself and that has been my

24     decision.

25             JUDGE BONOMY:  Thank you very much.  It's plain from the exchange

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 1     we have just had that you are able to hear the proceedings in a language

 2     which you understand, and therefore another of the requirements I am

 3     asked to be satisfied about is, in fact, satisfied.

 4             Only two of the Pre-Trial Bench are here because this matter was

 5     raised at very short notice this morning, and Judge Picard, the third

 6     member of the Bench, is committed to the trial of Perisic this afternoon

 7     and sits there.  So we shall proceed without her.  The motion which was

 8     made was an application for certification to appeal decisions on

 9     extension of time and for reconsideration of the motion to amend the

10     indictment.

11             The Trial Chamber in its full composition met this morning to

12     deal with that motion, and we have decided to deny it.  We have denied

13     the first part, that's the application for certification to appeal,

14     because no basis has been stated on which, in the opinion of the

15     Trial Chamber, success in the appeal could significantly affect the fair

16     and expeditious conduct of the trial and because the issue is not one on

17     which an immediate determination by the Appeals Chamber may materially

18     advance the proceedings.

19             It follows from the decision to deny the first part of this

20     application that the second part, that's for reconsideration of the

21     motion to amend, must also be denied because there is no basis for

22     reconsideration of that motion to amend the indictment.  That motion,

23     having been disposed of, Mr. Karadzic, I now proceed to deal with the

24     question of the indictment.

25             The third amended indictment was filed at the end of last week in

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 1     both English and B/C/S.  It's now for you to enter pleas on that

 2     indictment, and as the Chamber indicated before, you will be called upon

 3     to plead in relation to each of the counts of the indictment.  It is your

 4     right to have the indictment read to you, but you may equally waive that

 5     right and we can proceed straight to the question of the pleas.  Do you

 6     wish to have it read or do you waive the right to have it read?

 7             THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I do not wish to have anyone else

 8     read the indictment to me; however, in relation to the previous question,

 9     I wanted to say a single sentence -- actually, this is the third time

10     already that I have been denied the right to respond.  This decision was

11     given to me a day after the dead-line expired.  I'm afraid that we're

12     falling into a pattern now in addition to a multitude of other

13     difficulties that are leading this proceeding along a completely wrong

14     track.  So this is the third time that this has happened.  Ultimately my

15     time has been cut short.  I did not ask for more than 14 days; I asked

16     for what belongs to me.  I still don't have a team of my own through no

17     fault of my own.  I still don't have the right conditions for preparing

18     my defence.

19             JUDGE BONOMY:  These matters were all raised in the application

20     you made and were given consideration by the Bench before the decision

21     was made.

22             We will now proceed to deal with the indictment, and for that

23     purpose I must ask you, please, to stand.

24                           [The accused stands up]

25             JUDGE BONOMY:  I will go through the charges one by one.  The

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 1     first count is a count of genocide punishable under Articles 4(3)(a) and

 2     7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute.  Do you plead guilty or not guilty?

 3             THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I have a general position in

 4     relation to the entire indictment.  Regardless of all the other reasons

 5     that I will cite in terms of challenging the jurisdiction of this

 6     Tribunal, I'm doing that today, I'm challenging it on the basis of my

 7     agreement with the international community, whose representative at that

 8     point in time was Mr. Richard Holbrooke.  May I be allowed to quote a

 9     Serbian poet who said my case becomes the case of the entire world.  I'm

10     defending a principle here that wars cannot be concluded and peace

11     agreements cannot be signed by deceit and that one cannot play games with

12     entire regions and even with the world as a whole.  I am abiding --

13             JUDGE BONOMY:  Mr. Karadzic, I have cut you off because you are

14     not directing your submissions to the issue which is before the Court.  I

15     shall ask you again in relation to the first charge of genocide whether

16     you plead guilty or not guilty.

17             THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I'm not going to enter a plea at

18     all for the reasons I mentioned.  This Tribunal does not have the right

19     to try me.

20             JUDGE BONOMY:  Thank you very much.  As you know, you will have

21     the opportunity to deal with that issue in due course.  You have an

22     appeal outstanding which touches upon it.  You have made submissions, I

23     understand, to the Appeals Chamber, which is dealing with the matter.

24     And therefore, the issue is one that is being given consideration.  It's

25     not for this Bench today to deal with that.  So just for the avoidance of

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 1     any doubt, is it your clear position that for whatever reason you do not

 2     intend to state whether you plead guilty or not guilty to the charges on

 3     the indictment?

 4             THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] You interpreted that properly, yes.

 5             JUDGE BONOMY:  Very well.  I shall enter pleas of not guilty on

 6     all 11 charges on your behalf and instruct the Registrar to appoint a

 7     trial at an appropriate date.

 8             That completes today's proceedings.  The court is now adjourned.

 9                           --- Whereupon the Further Initial Appearance

10                           adjourned at 2.33 p.m.

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