Page 1
1 Friday, 19th December 1997
2
3 (2.30 pm)
4 JUDGE CASSESE: May I call the Registrar -- to ask the
5 Registrar to call out the number and name of this case?
6 THE REGISTRAR: This is IT-95-17/1-I, the Prosecutor against
7 Anto Furundzija.
8 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you. Let me check whether the
9 equipment for interpretation works. I would like to ask
10 the accused if he can hear me in a language he
11 understands. Can you hear me?
12 THE ACCUSED: Yes.
13 JUDGE CASSESE: We may now commence with this hearing. As
14 you know, this is the initial appearance of the accused
15 before the International Criminal Tribunal for the
16 former Yugoslavia. This hearing is being held in
17 accordance with the Statute of the Tribunal and our
18 Rules of Procedure and Evidence, to charge formally the
19 accused. As you know, these proceedings are being
20 recorded and will be available to the public.
21 Rule 62 of the Rules of Procedure requires that
22 the accused, after having his indictment confirmed by a
23 judge and after having been arrested and surrendered to
24 the custody of the International Tribunal, must be
25 formally charged at a procedure described as the initial
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1 appearance.
2 I would like now to ask the accused to rise and
3 state for the Trial Chamber his name, date and place of
4 birth and the name of the attorney whom he has chosen to
5 represent him.
6 THE ACCUSED: My name is Anto Furundzija, born 8th July
7 1969, in Travnik, in Travnik municipality.
8 JUDGE CASSESE: May I have the name of your attorney, the
9 attorney you have chosen?
10 MR FURUNDZIJA: Mr Joka.
11 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.
12 MR FURUNDZIJA: You are welcome.
13 JUDGE CASSESE: May I have the appearances for the
14 Prosecution?
15 MR HARMON: Good afternoon, Mr President, your Honours and
16 counsel. My name is Mark Harmon, I represent the
17 Prosecutor's Office this afternoon in these
18 proceedings.
19 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you. I will now turn to the counsel
20 for the accused and I would like to ask him to introduce
21 himself. Could you introduce yourself and spell your
22 name clearly? Please would you also indicate which bar
23 you work with.
24 MR JOKA: Your Honours, my name is Srdjan Joka, I am an
25 attorney from Croatia and am a member of the Bar
Page 3
1 Association of the Republic of Croatia. I was told to
2 spell my name, S-R-D-J-A-N J-O-K-A. I think that is
3 all.
4 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you so much. Could you confirm that
5 your qualifications, credentials and other necessary
6 documents have been provided to the Registry of our
7 Tribunal.
8 MR JOKA: Yes, I can confirm that, and I can add that I am
9 on a register of the appointed Defence counsel at the
10 Registry.
11 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you. Let me say a few words about the
12 rules which govern our proceedings today, and I will try
13 simply to summarise them very quickly. As you know,
14 Article 20 of the Statute of the International Criminal
15 Tribunal requires us inter alia first of all to satisfy
16 ourselves that the rights of the accused are respected;
17 then to confirm that the accused understands the
18 indictment, and thirdly, call upon the accused to enter
19 a plea to the charges against him in the indictment.
20 You may also know that the rights of the accused
21 are detailed in Article 21 of the Tribunal's Statute.
22 This article provides inter alia that the accused shall
23 be entitled to a fair and public hearing, he shall be
24 informed promptly and in detail, in a language which he
25 understands, of the nature and cause of the charges
Page 4
1 against him, and that he must be given adequate time and
2 facilities for the preparation of his defence and to
3 communicate with counsel of his own choosing.
4 As I have already indicated, Rule 62 of our Rules
5 of Procedure and Evidence of this Tribunal governs the
6 initial appearance. This Trial Chamber must be
7 satisfied that the accused's right to counsel has been
8 respected, the indictment must be read to the accused in
9 a language he speaks or understands and the Trial
10 Chamber must be satisfied that the accused understands
11 the indictment.
12 We are then required to call upon the accused to
13 enter a plea of guilty or not guilty on each count. If
14 the accused fails to enter a plea, we are required to
15 enter a plea of not guilty on his behalf. In the case
16 of a not guilty plea, we will instruct the Registrar to
17 set a date for trial. In the case of a guilty plea, we
18 will instruct the Registrar to set a date for the
19 pre-sentencing hearing, or any other appropriate dates.
20 Now I would like to ask Defence counsel whether he
21 and his client have received copies of the indictment in
22 a language which they understand and whether the
23 contents therein were understood. Have you had adequate
24 time to confer with your client in preparation for this
25 initial appearance? This is a question addressed to
Page 5
1 you.
2 MR JOKA: Your Honours, both my client and I have received
3 the indictment and had adequate time to prepare for this
4 initial appearance before the Trial Chamber.
5 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you so much. Now the indictment, as
6 you know, was issued by the Prosecutor on 2nd November
7 1995, and it was confirmed by Judge Gabrielle Kirk
8 McDonald on 10th November 1995. Judge McDonald also
9 ordered that the indictment should not be divulged.
10 This order still applies and the reading of the
11 indictment today will be in compliance here with.
12 So in principle under our Statute and our Rules,
13 as I say, the indictment should be read out here in
14 court. I wonder, however, whether the accused is
15 prepared to waive his right to the public reading of the
16 indictment. I wonder whether he has been in touch with
17 the Defence counsel on this issue.
18 MR JOKA: Yes, your Honours, we have discussed this subject
19 and my client -- he has a very clear idea what it
20 concerns and on our part, we agree that there is no need
21 to read it here in the courtroom.
22 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you. I will now turn to the accused.
23 May I ask you please to rise, Mr Furundzija? Thank
24 you. Your counsel has informed the Trial Chamber that
25 you have received a copy of the indictment in a language
Page 6
1 which you understand, that you comprehend the contents
2 of the indictment. The indictment has just been read --
3 you waived your right to the public reading out of the
4 indictment. I would like to ask you whether you may
5 confirm whether this is correct, whether the indictment
6 is correct, whatever I have been saying is correct and
7 whether you have any questions concerning the
8 indictment. This is my main question, whether you have
9 any questions concerning the indictment.
10 MR FURUNDZIJA: Your Honours, I have no questions and it is
11 correct what my counsel has said.
12 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you. I am now going to recall each of
13 the three counts against you. Please tell the court
14 whether you plead guilty or not guilty after I have put
15 the counts to you, each of the three counts to you. The
16 form of words we wish you to use is, "I plead guilty",
17 or, "I plead not guilty". Have you understood that?
18 MR FURUNDZIJA: Yes, your Honour.
19 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you. Now, I will ask you about count
20 12, a grave breach, torture or inhuman treatment
21 recognised by Article 2(b) of the Tribunal's Statute.
22 How do you plead?
23 MR FURUNDZIJA: I plead not guilty.
24 JUDGE CASSESE: Count 13, a violation of the laws or customs
25 of war, torture, recognised by Article 3 of the
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1 Tribunal's Statute; how do you plead?
2 MR FURUNDZIJA: I plead not guilty.
3 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you. Count 14, a violation of the
4 laws or customs of war, outrages upon personal dignity,
5 including rape, recognised by Article 3 of the
6 Tribunal's Statute; how do you plead?
7 MR FURUNDZIJA: I plead not guilty.
8 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you. You may now be seated.
9 Mr Furundzija, you will be remanded now to the further
10 custody of the International Tribunal, and kept in the
11 detention unit until further order is made. Would the
12 Registrar please note the pleas of the accused?
13 As the accused has pleaded not guilty to the
14 charges against him, it is necessary to consider the
15 organisation of the work of the Trial Chamber and the
16 setting of a date for the trial.
17 May I ask the Registrar whether the Registry is
18 able to set a date for the trial right away?
19 THE REGISTRAR: I cannot answer this question at this
20 moment, but the Registry will do everything it can to
21 set the date for the trial as quickly as possible.
22 JUDGE CASSESE: We shall therefore have to await
23 confirmation from the Registry.
24 Let me now move on to a few problems which I would
25 like to -- questions which I would like to raise. First
Page 8
1 of all, let me remind briefly the obligations of the
2 Prosecutor. Under our Rules of Procedure and Evidence,
3 the Prosecutor has an obligation, and this is spelt out
4 in Rule 66, to make available to the Defence within 30
5 days of this initial appearance copies of the supporting
6 material which accompanied the indictment when
7 confirmation was sought, and all prior statements
8 obtained by the Office of the Prosecutor from the
9 accused. This is a clear obligation set out in our
10 Rules.
11 Furthermore, the Prosecutor is obliged to make
12 available, no later than 60 days before the date set for
13 trial, copies of the statements of all witnesses whom
14 the Prosecutor intends to call to testify at trial. The
15 statements of any additional witnesses shall be made
16 available as soon as decisions to call those witnesses
17 are made. Further orders may be made by the Trial
18 Chamber in the interests of a fair and expeditious trial
19 for the accused.
20 I would like to ask if any such documents have
21 already been provided to the Defence; if not, may I ask
22 the Prosecutor if he could indicate a timeframe within
23 which these materials can be provided to Defence
24 counsel.
25 MR HARMON: Mr President, no such materials have been
Page 9
1 provided to the Defence to date. We will comply with
2 the Rules set forth in Rule 66, we will provide all
3 supporting materials to the Defence within 30 days of
4 the initial appearance. My best estimate at this point,
5 Mr President, is that we will provide these supporting
6 materials to counsel on or before 5th January, which is
7 well within the timeframe set up in Rule 66. I am not
8 in a position to comment on the second part of the Rule,
9 that is when we have to provide the statements of all
10 witnesses, but we will comply with the Rule, that is we
11 will comply with providing the statements within 60
12 days, no later than 60 days before the date set for
13 trial.
14 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you. Mr Joka, do you understand what
15 the Prosecutor has just pledged? So you will be
16 entitled within the timeframe he has just set out to
17 have all the documents that were attached to the
18 indictment and the request for confirmation which were
19 submitted to the International Tribunal.
20 MR JOKA: Your Honours, I have completely understood that.
21 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.
22 MR JOKA: I only wanted to ask my learned colleague that if
23 possible, and observing the timeframe from Rule 66, if
24 he could provide these documents as soon as possible,
25 but I think that we will meet that deadline anyway.
Page 10
1 Thank you.
2 JUDGE CASSESE: All right. I see that you are nodding, so
3 you agree.
4 Let me also address the issue of preliminary
5 motions. You know that Rule 72 of the Rules of
6 Procedure and Evidence provide for preliminary motions.
7 The parties under this particular Rule of our Rules of
8 Procedure and Evidence have 60 days from the date of
9 disclosure by the Prosecutor to the Defence of all
10 material and statements provided under Rule 66(A),
11 within which they must file preliminary motions, if
12 any. Other motions may be filed under Rule 73.
13 I wonder whether the parties might indicate their
14 general readiness to proceed to trial. First of all,
15 let me turn to the Defence counsel. Generally speaking,
16 are you ready to proceed to trial as soon as these
17 questions are sorted out?
18 MR JOKA: Of course it is in our interest to have as early a
19 date for trial as possible.
20 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.
21 MR HARMON: Mr President, after the hearing and decisions
22 rendered on the preliminary motions, we will be ready to
23 proceed to trial.
24 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you so much. One final point which is
25 of relevance to us concerning the organisation of the
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1 proceedings is the question of the Status Conference,
2 which as you know is of great importance. So we should
3 be able to set a date for a Status Conference in order
4 to look in greater detail at the state of preparedness
5 of the parties for trial, and also in order to settle
6 any outstanding issues. I wonder whether the Prosecutor
7 could suggest a suitable date for a Status Conference.
8 Are you in a position to propose a date?
9 MR HARMON: I am not at this point, Mr President. I have
10 not seen any -- the complexity of any preliminary
11 motions. I think it would be, first of all, of interest
12 to us to see the preliminary motions, what they are,
13 before we can set a Status Conference date. If the
14 court wishes a date set before the filing of the
15 preliminary motions, then, Mr President, we are at the
16 court's disposal. I would say -- I do not have a
17 calendar in front of me, I would suggest perhaps toward
18 the end of January, a date for a Status Conference. By
19 then we will have complied with our initial discovery
20 obligations under Rule 66, counsel will have had an
21 opportunity to see the supporting materials and at that
22 point, perhaps a Status Conference would be in order.
23 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you. I wonder whether the Defence
24 counsel has any suggestion concerning a Status
25 Conference, a date for a Status Conference?
Page 12
1 MR JOKA: Your Honours, we will cooperate as much as
2 possible within the timeframe that we are operating in.
3 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you. We judges were thinking that two
4 dates might be suitable; one would be 13th February in
5 the afternoon, or the other one would be, if this is not
6 acceptable to the parties, would be 16th March at 8.30
7 in the morning. Of course, we would prefer
8 13th February, the sooner the better.
9 MR HARMON: Either date is convenient to the Prosecutor,
10 Mr President. Either date, it does not make any
11 difference to us.
12 JUDGE CASSESE: What about the Defence?
13 MR JOKA: We are prepared to comply with the first or the
14 second date.
15 JUDGE CASSESE: So therefore let us go for 13th February in
16 the afternoon, probably 2.30 or 3.00 in the afternoon,
17 13th February, for a Status Conference. All right, it
18 is so decided.
19 Now I would like to ask the parties to notify to
20 the Trial Chamber, through the Registry, of course, of
21 any problems that may arise in the meantime, in order
22 that we may dispose of those problems and proceed with a
23 fair and expeditious trial, because we very much
24 believe, and we have strong feelings about that, that
25 the accused has a fundamental right to a fair and
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1 expeditious trial.
2 I wonder whether there are any questions that
3 either party might wish to raise? Yes, please. Any
4 questions?
5 MR JOKA: Not within this context, your Honours. Maybe just
6 for me for my own clarifications' sake, I am here for
7 the first time, I did not fully understand your initial
8 remarks. Was this indictment now public, the indictment
9 pursuant to Rule 53, or whether this indictment
10 continues to be under seal. Thank you.
11 JUDGE CASSESE: It is public, there was an order issued
12 yesterday, I think, to the effect that the indictment is
13 public, in part, of course, because some parts are
14 redacted, so the part of the indictment concerning your
15 client is public. Any other questions?
16 MR JOKA: No, thank you very much.
17 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you. And from the Prosecutor?
18 MR HARMON: No additional questions, Mr President.
19 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you. I wonder whether my colleagues
20 would like to raise any questions? No questions? All
21 right, so therefore the hearing may be adjourned. The
22 hearing is adjourned.
23 (2.55 pm)
24 (Hearing adjourned)
25