IN THE TRIAL CHAMBER

Before:
Judge Patrick Robinson, Presiding
Judge David Hunt
Judge Mohamed Bennouna

Registrar:
Mrs. Dorothee de Sampayo Garrido-Nijgh

Decision of:
17 July 2000

PROSECUTOR

v.

BLAGOJE SIMIC
MILAN SIMIC
MIROSLAV TADIC
STEVAN TODOROVIC
SIMO ZARIC

_____________________________________________________

DECISION ON MOTION TO COMPEL

_____________________________________________________

The Office of the Prosecutor:

Ms. Nancy Paterson
Ms. Suzanne Hayden

Counsel for the accused:

Mr. Slobodan Zecevic, for Milan Simic
Mr. Igor Pantelic and Mr. Novak Lukic, for Miroslav Tadic
Mr. Deyan Ranko Brashich, for Stevan Todorovic
Mr. Borislav Pisarevic and Mr. Aleksander Lazarevic, for Simo Zaric

 

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 ("International Tribunal"),

BEING SEISED of a"Motion to Compel" filed on behalf of the accused, Stevan Todorovic, on 25 May 2000 ("the Motion"), the "Prosecutor’s Response to Todorovic Defence Motion to compel" filed by the Office of the Prosecutor ("Prosecution") on 1 June 2000 and "Stevan Todorovic’s Reply to Prosecutor’s Response dated June 1, 2000 on Motion to Compel" filed on 2 June 2000,

NOTING that in the Motion the defence for the accused, Stevan Todorovic ("Defence") asks the Trial Chamber to direct the Prosecution to provide the Defence with the address, fax and telephone numbers of the investigator named in the disclosure made in this matter by the Prosecution on 8 May 2000,

NOTING that the investigator is a previous employee of the International Tribunal,

NOTING that the Prosecution objects to the relief sought in the Motion, stating that "due to security and confidentiality concerns, it is the policy of the Office of the Prosecutor not to provide addresses, phone numbers, or present whereabouts of previous employees",

CONSIDERING that the Defence has not put forward any legal basis on which the Prosecution is required to provide such information in relation to a previous employee,

CONSIDERING, however, that as the investigator would potentially be called as a witness in these proceedings by the Defence, rather than by the Prosecution, it would therefore be in the interests of justice and of judicial economy for the Defence to be able to interview the investigator prior to his giving testimony,

PURSUANT to Rule 54 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Tribunal ("Rules"),

HEREBY DENIES the Request and ORDERS as follows:

  1. the Prosecution shall contact the investigator immediately to determine whether he would be willing to meet with the Defence prior to testifying and if so, under what conditions;

  2. no later than Monday 31 July 2000, the Prosecution shall

    1. inform the Trial Chamber as to the conditions under which the investigator would be available to meet with the Defence for questioning; and

    2. if the investigator is not willing to meet with the Defence prior to testifying, the Prosecution shall provide to the Trial Chamber, on a confidential ex parte base, the necessary contact details for the investigator.

The Trial Chamber will then make all necessary arrangements to call the investigator proprio motu pursuant to Rule 98 of the Rules.

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

 

_____________________________
Patrick Robinson
Presiding Judge

Dated this seventeenth day of July 2000
At The Hague
The Netherlands

[Seal of the Tribunal]