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1 Thursday, 3 October 2002
2 [Status Conference]
3 [Open session]
4 [The accused entered court]
5 --- Upon commencing at 4.30 p.m.
6 JUDGE POCAR: This Status Conference is called to order. Good
7 afternoon to everybody.
8 Madam Registrar, can you call the case, please.
9 THE REGISTRAR: Good afternoon, Your Honour. Case number
10 IT-95-14-A. Thank you. The Prosecutor versus Tihomir Blaskic. Thank
11 you.
12 JUDGE POCAR: Thank you. May I call for the appearances. For the
13 Prosecutor.
14 MR. FARRELL: Thank you, Your Honour. For the Prosecution is
15 myself, Norman Farrell. With me is Ms. Sonja Boelaert-Suominen, and the
16 case manager Ms. Nicola Bonfield. Thank you.
17 JUDGE POCAR: Thank you. For Mr. Blaskic. I understand there is
18 a phone link with the counsel.
19 MR. HAYMAN: Good afternoon, Your Honour. Russell Hayman and
20 Andrew Paley appearing by phone on behalf of General Blaskic.
21 JUDGE POCAR: Thank you. I don't hear you very well, but -- the
22 voice is very weak, but still I could get you.
23 Now, Mr. Blaskic, do you hear me? Can you follow the conference?
24 Is everything okay with the translation?
25 THE APPELLANT: [Interpretation] Good afternoon, Your Honour. I
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1 can hear you very well. Everything is going well with the translation.
2 Yes, I can follow this conference.
3 JUDGE POCAR: Thank you very much. So I note that the last Status
4 Conference took place on the 3rd of June, 2002, so slightly more than 120
5 days. We are coming 120 days later. I hope this will not be a matter of
6 concern.
7 The Status Conference, as it is known, has the purpose to allow
8 the appellant first, pending the appeal, the opportunity to raise issues
9 in relation to the appeal, including his condition of detention.
10 May I ask the counsel for the appellant if there is any concern
11 concerning the detention conditions of the accused.
12 MR. HAYMAN: Your Honour, this is Mr. Hayman. I would ask the
13 Court to invite General Blaskic to address it directly as to the
14 conditions of his confinement.
15 JUDGE POCAR: Thank you, Mr. Hayman.
16 Mr. Blaskic, do you have any concern about your conditions of
17 detention you would like to raise in this Status Conference?
18 THE APPELLANT: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour. I have no
19 questions or concerns regarding the conditions that I'm living in. These
20 conditions are in accordance with the Statute of this Tribunal, and I am
21 treated professionally and fairly by the staff.
22 JUDGE POCAR: Thank you, Mr. Blaskic.
23 Now, let's -- if there are no problems concerning the detention of
24 the appellant, I would like to come to the status of this appeal.
25 As the parties know, the Appeals Chamber had to analyse the new
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1 evidence submitted by the appellant by three motions, with three motions.
2 I can tell the parties that the Chamber is in the final stage of its
3 analysis of the evidence and will soon, very soon, be in a position to
4 inform the parties of the outcome of this exercise. The motions
5 submitted, voluminous evidence, and it took some time for the Appeals
6 Chamber to analyse it in full detail, but that process of analysis is
7 almost finished and almost over, and I can say that soon the Appeals
8 Chamber will make known its position on the new evidence.
9 Apart from this -- from the question of the new evidence, there
10 are a number of pending motions still. All of them require a decision by
11 the full Bench, so I can here in the Status Conference only inform the
12 parties that the submissions are being carefully considered, and the
13 decision will come up as soon as possible on these motions.
14 Well, have the parties any queries about the status of the appeal?
15 Prosecutor?
16 MR. FARRELL: None at this stage, Your Honour. Thank you.
17 JUDGE POCAR: Thank you. May I ask counsel for the appellant if
18 there is any issue you would like to raise at this moment. Mr. Hayman?
19 MR. HAYMAN: Thank you, Your Honour. There are no issues we wish
20 to raise. Of course if there is to be a hearing that would require our
21 attendance this fall in The Hague, we would welcome the opportunity to
22 coordinate with your staff to identify a date or time period that would be
23 suitable for us to attend such a hearing.
24 JUDGE POCAR: Yes, Mr. Hayman, of course. If the Appeals Chamber
25 would have to schedule in the fall a hearing, the parties will be informed
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1 in advance and any arrangement will be made to accommodate the possibility
2 for the parties and for you yourself to attend the meeting and to prepare
3 properly.
4 MR. HAYMAN: Thank you, Your Honour.
5 JUDGE POCAR: Well, at this stage if the parties don't have
6 anything else to raise, I think we may adjourn this Status Conference. In
7 a short time, I repeat, the parties will be informed of the outcome of the
8 analysis of the new evidence by the Appeals Chamber.
9 The Status Conference stands adjourned.
10 -- Whereupon the Status Conference was adjourned
11 at 4.40 p.m.
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