IN THE TRIAL CHAMBER
Before:
Judge Richard May, Presiding
Judge Mohamed Bennouna
Judge Patrick Robinson
Registrar:
Mrs. Dorothee de Sampayo Garrido-Nijgh
Decision of:
3 November 1999
PROSECUTOR
v.
DARIO KORDIC
MARIO CERKEZ
_______________________________________________
DECISION ON PROSECUTION REQUEST TO PROCEED BY DEPOSITION
_______________________________________________
The Office of the Prosecutor:
Mr. Geoffrey Nice
Mr. Kenneth Scott
Ms. Susan Somers
Mr. Patrick Lopez-Terres
Counsel for the Accused:
Mr. Mitko Naumovski, Mr. Leo Andreis, Mr. David F. Geneson, Mr. Turner T. Smith, Jr.,
Mr. Robert A. Stein, Mr. Stephen M. Sayers and Ms. Ksenija Turkovic, for Dario Kordic
Mr. Bozidar Kovacic and Mr. Goran Mikulicic, for Mario Cerkez
THIS TRIAL 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 SEISED of two Applications to proceed by deposition filed by the Office of the Prosecutor ("Prosecution") on 3 November 1999, the first in respect of witness Michael Buffini and the second in respect of Witness T and witness Paulus Schipper (together "the Requests") for the taking of deposition evidence in accordance with Rule 71 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Tribunal ("Rules"), due to the temporary unavailability of Judge Patrick Robinson,
NOTING the agreement of the parties to the use of this procedure for direct- and cross-examination of the witnesses Michael Buffini, Witness T and Paulus Schipper, as reflected in the transcript of 3 November 1999,
CONSIDERING that the unavailability of one of the members of the Trial Chamber must not prejudice the right of the accused to be tried without undue delay, as provided in Article 21, paragraph 4(c), of the Statute of the International Tribunal (the "Statute"),
CONSIDERING that, pursuant to Rule 71 (A) of the Rules, at the request of either party, the Trial Chamber may, in exceptional circumstances and in the interests of justice, order that deposition evidence be taken before a duly appointed Presiding Officer;
CONSIDERING the guidance on the interpretation of Rule 71 (A) by the Appeals Chamber in its Decision of 15 July 1999 in Prosecutor v. Zoran Kupreskic et al.,
FOR THE FOREGOING REASONS
AND WITH THE AGREEMENT OF THE PARTIES
PURSUANT to Article 21 of the Statute and Rules 54, and 71 of the Rules,
GRANTS the Request and APPOINTS as Presiding Officers for that purpose Judge Richard May and Judge Mohammed Bennouna; and
ORDERS that during the hearings of 3 to 5 November 1999 the evidence of the witnesses Michael Buffini, Witness T and Paulus Schipper will be taken pursuant to Rule 71 and that the deposition procedure shall be as follows:
Done in English and French, the English text being authoritative.
___________________________
Richard May
Presiding
Dated this third day of November 1999
At The Hague
The Netherlands
[Seal of the Tribunal]