Case No. IT-03-69 -PT

The Prosecutor v. Stanisic

DECISION

THE REGISTRAR,

CONSIDERING the Statute of the Tribunal as adopted by the Security Council under Resolution 827 (1993), and in particular Article 21 thereof;

CONSIDERING the Rules of Procedure and Evidence as adopted by the Tribunal on 11 February 1994, as subsequently amended, and in particular Rules 44 and 45 thereof;

CONSIDERING the Directive on Assignment of Defence Counsel (hereinafter "the Directive") as adopted by the Tribunal on 28 July 1994, as subsequently amended, and in particular, Articles 6, 8, 10, 16 and 19 thereof;

CONSIDERING that in a letter dated 10 September 2003, Mr. Vladan Vukcevic, assigned lead counsel to Mr. Jovica Stanisic (hereinafter "the accused"), by a decision of the Registrar dated 27 July 2003, requested the withdrawal of current co-counsel, Mr. Slobodan Vukcevic of Belgrade, and the assignment as co-counsel of Mr. Gerardus Godefridus Johannes Knoops, attorney at law from Amsterdam;

CONSIDERING that on 15 September 2003, the accused agreed to the withdrawal of Mr. Slobodan Vukcevic and the assignment of Mr. Knoops as co-counsel;

CONSIDERING that in the interests of justice, the Registry may withdraw co-counsel at the request of the lead counsel;

CONSIDERING that in his letter to the Registry dated 10 September 2003, Mr. Vladan Vukcevic declared that the pre-trial proceedings would not be delayed as a result of the withdrawal of Mr. Slobodan Vukcevic and that the assignment of Mr. Knoops would not diminish the resources available for the defence of the accused;

CONSIDERING that on 10 June 2003, Mr. Knoops was assigned as legal consultant in the appeal of Mitar Vasiljevic pending before the Tribunal;

NOTING that under article 9 of the Code of Professional Conduct for Counsel Appearing before the International Tribunal (hereinafter "the Code of Conduct"), defence counsel has a duty to ensure that no conflict of interest arises;

CONSIDERING that the Registrar has ascertained that there is no conflict of interest resulting from the assignment of Mr. Knoops as co-counsel for the accused;

CONSIDERING that Mr. Knoops is on the Rule 45 list of counsel who are eligible to be considered for an assignment as counsel and is a member of the Association of Defence Counsel;

CONSIDERING FURTHER that Mr. Knoops meets the requirements for assignment as set forth in Article 14 of the Directive;

CONSIDERING that on the basis of Article 16 (C) of the Directive, the Registrar may assign a second counsel to assist the lead counsel in the interests of justice;

NOTING that in the interests of justice the Registrar must safeguard the rights of the accused and ensure that the transition in the composition of the defence team is accomplished without adverse effect on the defence;

DECIDES to assign Mr. Knoops as co-counsel to the accused for a temporary period of 30 days, effective as of 17 September 2003.

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Hans Holthuis,
Registrar

Dated this sixteenth day of September 2003
At The Hague
The Netherland