Page 22
1 Thursday, 31 March, 2005
2 [Status Conference]
3 [Open session]
4 [The appellant entered court]
5 --- Upon commencing at 2.20 p.m.
6 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Good afternoon to everyone. Before
7 we start, I would like to turn to Mrs. Lindsay and to tell us in which
8 capacity she is here with us today.
9 MS. LINDSAY: I'm here today as a legal consultant to Mr. Tansey,
10 who is now lead counsel.
11 JUDGE GUNEY: Would you please repeat again.
12 MS. LINDSAY: I am here as legal consultant. I have been
13 appointed to the Momir Nikolic team as a legal consultant, assisting
14 Mr. Tansey, who is lead counsel.
15 JUDGE GUNEY: Thank you very much. You may participate as a part
16 of the team, of course, but as you know, you are not entitled to take the
17 floor. Thank you.
18 [Interpretation] This being said, I would like to ask
19 Mr. Registrar to call the case.
20 THE REGISTRAR: [Interpretation] Thank you very much, Your Honour.
21 This is case number IT-02-60/1-A, the Prosecutor versus Momir Nikolic.
22 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Mr. Nikolic, can you hear and
23 understand our proceedings?
24 Mr. Nikolic, let me repeat: Can you hear and understand these
25 proceedings?
Page 23
1 THE APPELLANT: [Interpretation] No, I don't seem to be receiving
2 any interpretation.
3 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] There seems to be some technical
4 problems here.
5 THE APPELLANT: [Interpretation] Yes, I can hear now.
6 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you very much. You may sit
7 down.
8 THE APPELLANT: [Interpretation] Thank you.
9 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] May we have the appearances, please,
10 starting with the OTP, please.
11 MS. KIND: Good afternoon, Your Honour. Appearing for the
12 Prosecution today is myself, Marie-Ursula Kind, together with my colleague
13 Mr. Mathias Marcussen, and our case manager Ms. Lourdes Galicia.
14 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you. May I now turn to
15 Mr. Nikolic's Defence counsel.
16 MR. TANSEY: Your Honour, I appear today on behalf of Mr. Nikolic
17 and, as you know, Ms. Virginia Lindsay is my legal consultant.
18 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you very much. Thank you very
19 much, Mr. Tansey. And I would like to welcome you to this Tribunal before
20 which, if I'm not mistaken, you are appearing for the first time.
21 Since the beginning of the appeals proceeding in this case we've
22 been faced with a certain number of difficulties, but I am confident that
23 from now on the parties will be able to proceed more diligently and to
24 overcome those difficulties and to help us, obviously, overcome these
25 problems.
Page 24
1 As you know, in keeping with the provisions of Rule 65 bis (B) of
2 the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, a status conference shall be convened
3 within 120 days of the filing of a notice of appeal, and thereafter within
4 120 days after the last status conference, to allow any person in custody
5 pending appeal the opportunity to raise issues in relation thereto,
6 including issues related to his health status, mental and physical health.
7 This is the fourth status conference convened over the course of this
8 appeals proceeding.
9 Mr. Nikolic, or his Defence counsel, would you like to raise with
10 the Chamber concerns relating to your detention, or your health status?
11 THE APPELLANT: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I wish to tell you
12 that I do not have any specific matters to raise in relation to my
13 detention. The situation is quite correct and I've had some difficulties,
14 some health problems that I am dealing with at the infirmary that is with
15 the Detention Unit.
16 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you. Thank you. Now,
17 regarding the appeals proceeding, the Appeals Chamber has received all
18 briefs from the various parties in their corrected and public versions.
19 In this particular instance, the Appeals Chamber has been -- has received
20 three motions filed by the Defence. A motion for judicial notice, which
21 was filed on October the 11th, 2004. I would like to inform both parties
22 that the decision related to this motion will be issued in the coming
23 days.
24 A second motion for leave to file an amended notice of appeal, as
25 well as a second motion to admit additional evidence, were also submitted
Page 25
1 to the Appeals Chamber. In a decision dated March 8th, 2005 I granted
2 Mr. Nikolic an extension of time to file his replies to two motions.
3 Mr. Tansey, since these motions were filed by Mr. Nikolic's former
4 counsel, could you please tell me if your client intends to maintain these
5 motions and to file his replies, or if, alternatively, he wishes to
6 withdraw these motions. You have the floor, Mr. Tansey.
7 MR. TANSEY: Your Honour, the position is that I saw Mr. Nikolic
8 for the first time this morning. I, in fact, have had approximately two
9 hours' consultation with him. There are many matters which, it seems,
10 that I have to raise with him about the totality of the case and about the
11 matters raised in the appeal, and the position is that I am nowhere near
12 ready to deal with those particular matters. It would be foolish of me to
13 seek to deal with those matters until I am fully conversant with all the
14 facts of the case, as well as the law, et cetera.
15 So the position is, at present, I cannot answer Your Honour's
16 questions because they are matters which I have to consult with
17 Mr. Nikolic very carefully upon. And if I may just add to that, that, as
18 Your Honour knows, I was only instructed in this matter in around
19 mid-February. And I have spent some considerable time already reading the
20 background material to this case.
21 The position is I am nowhere near ready yet to adequately advise
22 and consider the matters raised. And yesterday -- and I don't know
23 whether Your Honour in fact received a motion which I believe was
24 incorrectly filed or attempted to be filed by me yesterday -- and if I may
25 just indicate to Your Honour the nature of the motion, and it was a second
Page 26
1 motion to enlarge time for filing of replies relating to the appellant's
2 second motion to admit additional evidence and a motion for leave to file
3 second amended notice of appeal.
4 Your Honour, I'm sorry if Your Honour does not or has not yet
5 received a copy of this. I, and I alone, must take the responsibility,
6 and that is my responsibility and my fault. But Your Honour, one
7 certainly was filed, I believe, a short while ago at the court.
8 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you very much, Mr. Tansey.
9 Thank you for providing these explanations to me. As I said, both motions
10 were received. I asked you if you wanted to maintain those motions or if
11 you wanted to withdraw them before the Appeals Chamber. I've duly noted
12 your explanations. So we still have those two motions for the time being.
13 And the replies should be filed by April 11th, 2005 at the latest. This
14 is where we stand now.
15 Are we in agreement?
16 [Presiding Judge confers with legal officer]
17 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] My legal officer has just indicated
18 that we have not received yet your motion asking for an extension of time
19 limits. When we receive such motion, we will act accordingly.
20 MR. TANSEY: As I said, I do apologize. It is our mistake. And
21 if I may bring to Your Honour's attention what in fact we are seeking, so
22 that the Chamber is well aware of the issue.
23 What in fact we are asking is for additional time to be provided
24 to enable us to consider all these matters, and the time up to and
25 including the 6th of June.
Page 27
1 Your Honour, I appreciate that this is a case which is of some
2 length. It's been going -- the appeal has been going on for some time,
3 however due to my commitments as they have been and are, and also due to
4 the need to really master all the facts of this case, I believe that if
5 you were to allow the date the 6th of June, then certainly we would be
6 ready to deal with all the matters as Your Honour has asked me about and
7 which the Court has to consider.
8 [Presiding Judge confers with legal officer]
9 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] I would like to reiterate,
10 Mr. Tansey, we have duly noticed your explanation, we have taken due
11 notice of your explanation, we thank you for your submissions regarding
12 the motion that you are going to file regarding an extension of delays up
13 until the 6th of June.
14 This motion, when we receive it, we shall statuate [as
15 interpreted] on the motion. This being said, I have no further
16 observations to make with respect to this pre-trial conference. I would,
17 however, like to ask the parties if they have any observations to make or
18 do they have any questions to raise at this stage?
19 Mr. Tansey, I'm turning to you first.
20 MR. TANSEY: Your Honour, I have no further observations at this
21 stage.
22 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you, sir. Mrs. Marie-Ursula
23 Kind.
24 MS. KIND: Thank you, Your Honour. No, the Prosecution has
25 nothing further to raise. Thank you.
Page 28
1 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you, Madam. Since there are
2 no further questions to be dealt with at this present stage, this hearing
3 stands adjourned.
4 --- Whereupon the hearing adjourned at 2.37 p.m.
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