1 Friday, 9 July 2004

2 [Status Conference]

3 [Open session]

4 --- Upon commencing at 9.00 a.m.

5 [The accused entered court]

6 JUDGE ANTONETTI: [Interpretation] Mr. Registrar, could you call

7 the case, please.

8 THE REGISTRAR: [Interpretation] Case number IT-97-25/1-PT, the

9 Prosecutor versus Mitar Rasevic.

10 JUDGE ANTONETTI: [Interpretation] Thank you. I will now ask for

11 the appearances for the Prosecution.

12 MS. UERTZ-RETZLAFF: Your Honours, for the Prosecution we have

13 Bill Smith, Christina Moeller, for case manager Diane Boles, and my name

14 is Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff.

15 JUDGE ANTONETTI: [Interpretation] Thank you. Could we have the

16 appearances for the Defence, please.

17 MR. DOMAZET: [Interpretation] Your Honour, my name is Vladimir

18 Domazet. I'm lead counsel for the accused Mr. Rasevic.

19 JUDGE ANTONETTI: [Interpretation] Thank you. I will ask the

20 registrar to check that the accused can hear what is being said. Thank

21 you.

22 The Trial Chamber would like to greet everyone present in the

23 courtroom; the representatives of the Prosecution, Defence counsel, the

24 accused, as well as everyone else in this courtroom, in particular the

25 interpreters, the registrar, the legal officer, and the usher as well.

1 As you know, this is a Status Conference we are holding pursuant

2 to Rule 65 bis. Yesterday there was a meeting with the legal officer who

3 informed me of what will be discussed at the hearing. I was informed that

4 there wouldn't be any particular problems, but I will give the floor to

5 the Prosecution for them to tell me whether the disclosure according to

6 Rule 66 and 68 is proceeding without any problems. Have all the documents

7 or statements that the Prosecution has been provided -- have they all been

8 provided to Defence counsel?

9 MS. UERTZ-RETZLAFF: Your Honour, we have disclosed all the

10 materials that we currently have identified according to Rule 66 and Rule

11 68. In relation to the sensitive witnesses, we have disclosed the names

12 to Defence counsel.

13 We have not filed a protective measures motion yet, although we

14 announced it during the last Status Conference, but we first wanted to

15 await negotiations between the Defence and the Prosecution so that we

16 actually can finalise our witness list. Only then it makes sense to

17 request protective measures for the remaining witnesses.

18 In relation to Rule 68, we have provided Rule 68 materials that

19 came up in the Krnojelac case, and we will continue to do that. We have

20 initiated general searches for this material, and after engaging in

21 discussions with the Defence, we will fine tune these searches.

22 The negotiations with the Defence we will start as soon as we have

23 a final indictment, and both sides believe that we can agree on a lot of

24 facts because we have actually already an appeal decision on the related

25 case, the Krnojelac case.

1 That is actually all I can say regarding to disclosure issues.

2 JUDGE ANTONETTI: [Interpretation] I'll address the issue of

3 disclosure of documents again. Have all the documents in B/C/S -- or,

4 rather, in English, have they been translated into English or have the

5 documents in B/C/S been translated into English? I want to make sure

6 there aren't any problems as far as the translations are concerned. Is

7 translation progressing satisfactorily, and have you been able to disclose

8 to Defence counsel all the translated documents?

9 MS. UERTZ-RETZLAFF: Yes, Your Honour, and it was quite easy for

10 us because we had actually all the documents used in the Krnojelac case,

11 and so we had them already in B/C/S and English.

12 JUDGE ANTONETTI: [Interpretation] As far as the witnesses are

13 concerned, yesterday you told the legal officer that it was your

14 intention, roughly speaking, that you should have about 50 witnesses.

15 Thirty-five witnesses would testify pursuant to 92 bis, Rule 92 bis, and

16 15 others would testify viva voce. So in fact, there wouldn't be many

17 witnesses who would come to testify viva voce in the courtroom.

18 As far as the witnesses who would be summoned to testify are

19 concerned, you mentioned protective measures, and I'd like to remind both

20 sides that many of these witnesses will certainly have already testified

21 in another case. And as you know, if protective measures have already

22 been granted to them, these protective measures shall still be in force

23 unless a final decision has been made in the meantime. As in the

24 Krnojelac case, the Appeals Chamber has already ruled this means that the

25 protective measures are measures that the Trial Chamber will have to

1 decide about, the Trial Chamber that is seized of the proceedings at

2 present.

3 I'll now turn to Defence counsel to ask him for his comments as

4 far as the documents are concerned. Does he have all the documents? Has

5 he come across any difficulties? Is the disclosure of documents

6 proceeding as best as possible?

7 MR. DOMAZET: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I have received all the

8 documents. I have no objections to raise and there are no problems as far

9 as communicating with the OTP is concerned and as far as disclosure is

10 concerned. Everything is fine for the moment. Thank you.

11 JUDGE ANTONETTI: [Interpretation] Very well. Since everything is

12 going well, we're very happy about that.

13 In addition, and this was mentioned a while ago, a minute ago by

14 the Prosecution, the parties are waiting for the Trial Chamber to render a

15 decision which would be rendered following a motion filed by the Defence

16 which concerns in particular three issues in the amended indictment. It

17 concerns paragraph 2, paragraph 8, and the correspondence between

18 paragraph 3 and 49.

19 In the near future, the Trial Chamber will render its decision.

20 We are about to finalise it, and a decision will be rendered very rapidly,

21 which should enable both parties to have a better idea of the indictment.

22 I assure you that this decision will be rendered before the end of the

23 month.

24 Given that there are no major obstacles, as the legal officer has

25 informed you, in the course of September I intend to issue an order to fix

1 or determine the future schedule for the hearings.

2 As you are well aware, the Prosecution needs to establish a list

3 of witnesses and exhibits, mention whether there are any agreements on

4 certain issues, factual or legal issues, and in the course of the month of

5 the September I will issue an order, and I believe that the trial could

6 start, if no new problems arise, in the autumn of this year. This is what

7 I wanted to inform you of because, as you know, the next hearing should be

8 held in four months' time. It is July now, so that would be in October or

9 in the month of November the case should be ready for trial. The only

10 question is to know who will be trying the case. Since there are a number

11 of trials which are being conducted at the moment, we might have a number

12 of trials at the same time, but this doesn't depend on me. It's for the

13 President and for the Registry to see when it will be possible to commence

14 with the trial.

15 At this point in time and with regard to this issue, is there

16 anything the Prosecution would like to say? No?

17 MS. UERTZ-RETZLAFF: Your Honour, just given the fact that there's

18 the summer break and people will be on vacation, the bulk of the

19 negotiations that we will have with the Defence, and we have discussed it

20 yesterday already, will actually take place in September. So I think we

21 would need September for having these negotiations finalised.

22 JUDGE ANTONETTI: [Interpretation] Very well. I'll now ask

23 Mr. Rasevic about his health. Is everything fine? Do you have any health

24 problems or is everything fine?

25 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I don't have any health

1 problems. I don't have any problems in the Detention Unit. I don't have

2 any problems with the officials or with the other detainees. Everything

3 is in order.

4 JUDGE ANTONETTI: [Interpretation] Very well, then. The conditions

5 in the Detention Unit do not raise any objections on your part.

6 Everything is okay.

7 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] The conditions are very good in the

8 Detention Unit, and I have a very good treatment from the personnel.

9 JUDGE ANTONETTI: [Interpretation] Do you have visits? Do the

10 members of your family visit you regularly?

11 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] In accordance with their

12 circumstances, my family are visiting me, my wife and my children.

13 JUDGE ANTONETTI: [Interpretation] Thank you very much. You may be

14 seated.

15 Very well, then. Has the Prosecution got any questions to raise

16 at this point in time?

17 MS. UERTZ-RETZLAFF: No, Your Honour.

18 JUDGE ANTONETTI: [Interpretation] Mr. Domazet, do you have any

19 questions to raise?

20 MR. DOMAZET: [Interpretation] No, Your Honour, and there is

21 nothing to raise at this moment.

22 JUDGE ANTONETTI: [Interpretation] This Status Conference has been

23 very short. As far as the decision is concerned following the motion by

24 the Prosecution, this will be rendered very soon, in September, as I have

25 indicated. I will be able to announce the schedule for the autumn. I

1 believe that it will be before November that we will see each other again

2 because it has to be within the next four months. I wish you a good rest,

3 and I will have the pleasure to see you next time. Thank you.

4 --- Whereupon the Status Conference adjourned

5 at 9.15 a.m.

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