Case No. IT-02-54-T
IN THE TRIAL CHAMBER
Before:
Judge Patrick Robinson, Presiding
Judge O-Gon Kwon
Judge Iain Bonomy
Registrar:
Mr. Hans Holthuis
Decision:
31 May 2005
PROSECUTOR
v.
SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC
_____________________________________
DECISION ON ADMISSION OF EXHIBIT 538
_____________________________________
Office of the Prosecutor:
Ms. Carla Del Ponte
Mr. Geoffrey Nice
The Accused:
Mr. Slobodan Milosevic
Court Assigned Counsel:
Mr. Steven Kay, QC
Ms. Gillian Higgins
Amicus Curiae:
Prof. Timothy McCormack
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"),
HAVING MARKED FOR IDENTIFICATION exhibit 538, which was tendered as evidence by the Prosecution during its case-in-chief,
NOTING the Trial Chamber’s "Order Concerning Exhibits Marked for Identification During the Prosecution Case", issued 20 July 2004, wherein the Trial Chamber ordered that (1) the Prosecution shall, within two weeks from the date of that Order, file its submissions on whether or not exhibits marked for identification during its case-in-chief should be admitted into evidence, and inform the Trial Chamber of any duplicate exhibits that may have been tendered under more than one exhibit number; and (2) the Accused and Amici Curiae shall file a response, if any, within two weeks from the date of the Prosecution’s filing,
NOTING the following:
NOTING that the Accused and Amici Curiae did not respond to the Prosecution Submission,
NOTING the "Decision and Order on Admission of Exhibits Marked for Identification During Prosecution Case-in-Chief", issued 15 February 2005, wherein the Trial Chamber (1) considered that exhibit 538 was only partially translated; (2) ordered that exhibit 538, which is marked for identification, shall not be admitted into evidence and shall be removed from the record; and (3) ordered that the Prosecution shall produce within three months of the date of this Order a fully translated version of exhibit 538, at which time the Trial Chamber would consider its admission into evidence,
NOTING that the Prosecution, via a memorandum dated 13 May 2005, provided to the Trial Chamber and parties a fully-translated version of exhibit 538,
NOTING that Rule 89(C) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Tribunal ("Rules") provides that the Trial Chamber may admit any relevant evidence that it deems to have probative value and that Rule 89(E) of the Rules provides that the Trial Chamber may request verification of the authenticity of evidence obtained out of court,
CONSIDERING that the RS Assembly materials were tendered as evidence through Prosecution Expert Witness Robert Donia, who testified, inter alia, that the RS Assembly materials were produced to the Prosecution by the Ministry of Justice of Republika Srpska in February 1998, December 2001, and January 2002,1
CONSIDERING FURTHER that the RS Assembly materials are relevant and have probative value,
PURSUANT to Rules 54, 89, and 127 of the Rules,
HEREBY ADMITS exhibit 538 into evidence.
Done in both English and French, the English text being authoritative.
_____________
Judge Robinson
Presiding
Dated this thirty-first day of May 2005
At The Hague
The Netherlands
[Seal of the Tribunal]