THE APPEALS 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 ("the International Tribunal");

NOTING the confidential ex parte "Order on the Motion of the Prosecutor for the Issuance of a Binding Order on the Republic of Croatia for the Production of Documents" issued by Trial Chamber I on 30 January 1998 ("the Binding Order");

NOTING the "Notice of State Request for Review of Order on the Motion of the Prosecutor for the Issuance of a Binding Order on the Republic of Croatia for the Production of Documents and Request for Stay of Trial Chamber’s Order of 30 January 1998", filed on 13 February 1998 ("the Request for Review"), in which the Republic of Croatia requested a review of the Binding Order pursuant to Rule 108bis of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Tribunal on the grounds that it was "fundamentally inconsistent with the Appeals Chamber’s Judgement on the Request of the Republic of Croatia for Review of the Decision of Trial Chamber II of 18 July 1997"¹ and was "issued on an ex parte basis without justification or authority in the International Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence"²;

NOTING the "Decision on the Notice of State Request for Review of Order on the Motion of the Prosecutor for the Issuance of a Binding Order on the Republic of Croatia for the Production of Documents and Request for Stay of Trial Chamber’s Order of 30 January 1998", issued on 26 February 1998, in which the Appeals Chamber held the Request for Review to be admissible and ordered as follows:

13. For the foregoing reasons, the APPEALS CHAMBER, pursuant to Rule 108 bis

(1) unanimously REFERS the matter to Trial Chamber I before which the Republic of Croatia and the Parties may be heard regarding the binding Order on the Republic of Croatia for the production of documents;

(2) unanimously SUSPENDS the execution of the binding Order until the Republic of Croatia and the Parties are heard by Trial Chamber I and the Trial Chamber decides on this matter.

14. The Appeals Chamber remains otherwise seised of this matter.

CONSIDERING that the trial proceedings in The Prosecutor v. Tihomir Blaskic, Case No.: IT-95-14-T were concluded on 30 July 1999;

CONSIDERING that the Republic of Croatia and the Office of the Prosecutor have expressed their views that at this time it would be appropriate for the Appeals Chamber to terminate the appeal proceedings in this matter;

CONSIDERING that no purpose would be served by further consideration of this matter by the Appeals Chamber, and that the Request for Review is now moot;

HEREBY DISMISSES the Request for Review, without prejudice to any issue bearing on this matter which may be raised by either of the parties to the trial proceedings in connection with an appeal against Judgement pursuant to Rule 108, or by the Republic of Croatia in connection with a request for review pursuant to Rule 108bis.

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

___________________________
Gabrielle Kirk McDonald
Presiding Judge

Dated this sixteenth day of November 1999
|At The Hague,
|The Netherlands.

1. Request for Review, at p. 2.
2. Ibid., at p. 3.