Case No.: IT-05-87-PT

IN TRIAL CHAMBER III

Before:
Judge Patrick Robinson, Presiding
Judge O-Gon Kwon
Judge Iain Bonomy

Registrar:
Mr. Hans Holthuis

Order of:
2 December 2005

PROSECUTOR

v.

MILAN MILUTINOVIC
NIKOLA SAINOVIC
DRAGOLJUB OJDANIC
NEBOJSA PAVKOVIC,
VLADIMIR LAZAREVIC,
VLASTIMIR DORDEVIC
SRETEN LUKIC

_______________________________________

DECISION ON NEBOJSA PAVKOVIC’S MOTION TO DELAY START OF TRIAL OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE TO RECONSIDER AND GRANT PREVIOUS MOTION FOR SEVERANCE

_______________________________________

The Office of the Prosecutor:

Mr. Thomas Hannis
Ms. Christina Moeller
Ms. Carolyn Edgerton

Counsel for the Accused:

Mr. Eugene O’Sullivan and Mr. Slobodan Zecevic for Milan Milutinovic
Mr. Tomislav Visnjic and Mr. Peter Robinson for Dragoljub Ojdanic
Mr. Toma Fila and Mr. Vladimir Petrovic for Nikola Sainovic
Mr. John Ackerman and Mr. Aleksander Aleksic for Mr. Nebojsa Pavkovic
Mr. Mihaljo Bakrac for Mr. Vladimir Lazarevic
Mr. Theodore Scudder for Mr. Sreten Lukic

 

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,

BEING SEIZED OF a "Motion to Delay Start of Trial or in the Alternative to Reconsider and Grant Previous Motion for Severance," filed on 7 November 2005 (the "Motion") by Nebojsa Pavkovic (the "Accused"),1 which seeks an order delaying the start of trial in this case until mid-2007 or, in the alternative, an order severing the Accused from the case and delaying his trial until mid-2007,

NOTING the Accused’s argument that he will not be ready for trial before mid-2007 given (1) his continued lack of access to transcripts and exhibits relating to the Kosovo portion of the trial in Prosecutor v. Milosevic, Case No. IT-02-54-T, which the Accused says were previously ordered to be given to him;2 (2) the Prosecution’s non-compliance with Rule 68 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (the "Rules"), evident from the Prosecution’s providing the Accused with a summary of certain Rule 68 material in the Prosecution’s possession, rather than the material itself;3 and (3) the length of time required to review the enormous amount of material in this case,4

NOTING "Sreten Lukic’s Response in Support of Pavkovic’s Motion to Delay Start of Trial or in the Alternative to Reconsider and Grant Previous Motion for Severance," filed on 8 November 2005, which joins Pavkovic’s Motion and adds that the Lukic defence team, which lacks co-counsel, had to wait until September 2005 to have two of its investigators approved, which Lukic contends hampered the preparation of his defence,5

NOTING the "Prosecution’s Response to Pavkovic’s ‘Motion to Delay Start of Trial or in the Alternative to Reconsider and Grant Previous Motion for Severance,’" filed on 21 November 2005, which opposes the Motion as premature in light of the fact that no trial date has been set yet in this case, and argues that (1) Pavkovic’s estimates of the length of time required to prepare for trial are speculative and unrealistic;6 and (2) the Accused’s complaints regarding access to certain Milosevic and Rule 68 materials were addressed at the Rule 65 ter meeting presided over by Judge Bonomy on 8 November 2005;7

NOTING the "Prosecution’s Response to Lukic’s Joinder in Pavkovic’s ‘Motion to Delay Start of Trial or in the Alternative to Reconsider and Grant Previous Motion for Severance,’" filed on 21 November 2005, which opposes Lukic’s submission on the same grounds as the Prosecution’s opposition to Pavkovic’s Motion,8

CONSIDERING that a trial date has not been set, that none of the events that indicate the impending start of trial – such as the ordering or filing of the Pre-Trial Brief required by Rule 65 ter(E) or the occurrence of the Pre-Trial Conference required by Rule 73 bis(A) – has taken place and that the Motion is therefore premature,

PURSUANT TO Rule 54 of the Rules,

HEREBY DISMISSES the Motion.

 

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

___________________________
Judge Patrick Robinson
Presiding

Dated this second day of December 2005.
At The Hague,
The Netherlands.

[Seal of the Tribunal]
1. The Trial Chamber denied a previous motion of Pavkovic’s to sever him from the rest of the Accused. See Decision on Pavkovic Motion to Set Aside Joinder or in the Alternative to Grant Severance, 7 September 2005.
2. See Motion to Delay Start of Trial or in the Alternative to Reconsider and Grant Previous Motion for Severance, paras. 5-19.
3. See ibid., para. 20.
4. See ibid., paras. 21-36.
5. See Sreten Lukic’s Response in Support of Pavkovic’s Motion to Delay Start of Trial or in the Alternative to Reconsider and Grant Previous Motion for Severance, paras. 1-9.
6. See Prosecution’s Response to Pavkovic’s "Motion to Delay Start of Trial or in the Alternative to Reconsider and Grant Previous Motion for Severance," paras. 3, 5.
7. See ibid., para. 4. The Trial Chamber notes its Order Arising from Prosecution’s Submission Regarding the Order of Pre-Trial Judge from Status Conference, 21 November 2005.
8. See Prosecution’s Response to Lukic’s Joinder in Pavkovic’s "Motion to Delay Start of Trial or in the Alternative to Reconsider and Grant Previous Motion for Severance," para. 3.