Case No. IT-05-88-PT

IN TRIAL CHAMBER II

The Office of the Prosecutor:

Mr. Peter McCloskey

Counsel for the Accused:

Zoran Zivanovic for Vujadin Popovic
John Ostojic for Ljubisa Beara
Jelena Nikolic and Stéphane Bourgon for Drago Nikolic
Alan Newman and Miodrag Stojanovic for Ljubomir Borovcanin
Natacha Fauveau Ivanovic for Radivoje Miletic
Dragan Krgovic for Milan Gvero
Djordje Sarapa for Vinko Pandurevic
Colleen Rohan and Vesna Janjic for Milorad Trbic

I, Carmel Agius, Judge 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 ("Tribunal");

BEING SEISED OF the "Prosecution’s Motion for Amendments to the Indictments" filed by the Office of the Prosecutor ("Prosecution") on 28 June 2005 ("Motion"), in which the Prosecution seeks to amend the indictments against Vujadin Popovic¹, Ljubisa Beara², Drago Nikolic³, Ljubomir Borovcanin⁴, Zdravko Tolimir⁵, Radivoje Miletic⁶, Milan Gvero⁷, Vinko Pandurevic⁸ and Milorad Trbic⁹ and to join them into one Consolidated Amended Indictment, attached to the Motion;

NOTING the "Order on the Consolidated Amended Indictment" issued by the Trial Chamber on 31 October 2005 ("First Order on the Consolidated Amended Indictment"), in which the Trial Chamber granted the Prosecution leave to file the Consolidated Amended Indictment under a single case number, namely Case No. IT-05-88-PT, and ordered, inter alia, that i) the proposed Consolidated Amended Indictment be the operative indictment in the Case No. IT-05-88-PT; and that ii) Vujadin Popovic, Ljubisa Beara, Drago Nikolic, Ljubomir Borovcanin, Radivoje Miletic, Milan Gvero, Vinko Pandurevic and Milorad Trbic (altogether "Accused"), shall have thirty days as of the date of the filing of the First Order on the Consolidated Amended Indictment in which to file any preliminary motion against the form of the Consolidated Amended Indictment pursuant to Rule 72 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the Tribunal ("Rules");

NOTING that the Prosecution filed the Consolidated Amended Indictment under a single case number, Case No. IT-05-88-PT, on 11 November 2005;

NOTING however that the Consolidated Amended Indictment was only filed in the language of the Accused, the B/C/S language, on 6 December 2005;

RECALLING Rule 50(C) of the Rules which provides, inter alia, that the accused shall have a further period of thirty days in which to file preliminary motions pursuant to Rule 72 of the Rules in respect of the new charges;

RECALLING the Trial Chamber’s consideration in the First Order on the Consolidated Amended Indictment that, in light of the specific circumstances of this case resulting from the Joinder Motion, the Accused should have the opportunity to file preliminary motions challenging the form of the entire Consolidated Amended Indictment and not only those parts pertaining to the new charges against them;

PURSUANT TO Rules 50(C), 72 and 126bis of the Rules;

HEREBY ORDER that

1. the Accused, Vujadin Popovic, Ljubisa Beara, Drago Nikolic, Ljubomir Borovcanin, Radivoje Miletic, Milan Gvero, Vinko Pandurevic and Milorad Trbic, shall file any preliminary motion against the form of the Consolidated Amended Indictment pursuant to Rule 72 of the Rules no later than Monday 9 January 2006;

2. the Prosecution shall file any response no later than Monday 23 January 2006.

Done in English and French, the English version being authoritative.

Dated this seventh day of December 2005
At The Hague
The Netherlands

_______________________
Judge Carmel Agius
Pre-Trial Judge

[Seal of the Tribunal]