Tribunal Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

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1 Friday, 4 July 2003

2 [Status Conference]

3 [Open session]

4 [The appellant entered court]

5 --- Upon commencing at 2.30 p.m.

6 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Good afternoon to everyone. By the

7 order of the President, on the 18th of May, 2003, I have been appointed as

8 the judge in the current case. Madam Registrar, could you please call the

9 case for the current hearing?

10 THE REGISTRAR: Yes, Your Honour. This is case number IT-97-25-A,

11 the Prosecutor versus Milorad Krnojelac.

12 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you. Mr. Krnojelac, could you

13 hear everything in your own language, what's happening in the courtroom

14 for this hearing?

15 THE APPELLANT: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I can hear you and I

16 can follow, thank you.

17 JUDGE GUNEY: Thank you, please sit down. [Interpretation] Now I

18 would like the appearances, please, starting by the Prosecution.

19 MR. CARMONA: Your Honour, my name is Anthony Carmona, appearing

20 with me is Ms. Norul Rashid. We appear on behalf of the Prosecution. And

21 our case manager today is Ms. Lourdes Galicia. Thank you.

22 JUDGE GUNEY: Thank you. [Interpretation] Now I am turning to the

23 Defence.

24 MR. BAKRAC: [Interpretation] Good afternoon, Your Honour. My name

25 is Mihajlo Bakrac, attorney, I'm still representing the accused, Milorad

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1 Krnojelac.

2 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you, Mr. Bakrac. As you know,

3 the objective of the Status Conference pursuant to Article 65 bis of the

4 Rules of Procedure and Evidence, this is a Status Conference which is

5 supposed to be held within 25 days of the filing of the appeal, and then

6 within the 120 days of the last Status Conference. In the current case,

7 the appeals filings have been filed by the Defence on the 12th of April,

8 2002, and by the Prosecutor, at the last Status Conference was held on the

9 3rd of April, 2003.

10 The objective of the Status Conference is to allow all the people

11 detained, and who are in the course of the appeals procedure, to raise

12 certain issues that are to do with detention, and also issues in relation

13 to their mental and physical condition.

14 So I'm going to now ask Mr. Krnojelac to ask him to speak now

15 directly or through his counsel regarding any issues to do with detention

16 or to do with his physical condition and his health. You have the floor,

17 either Mr. Krnojelac or his Defence representative.

18 THE APPELLANT: [Interpretation] Your Honour, thank you for your

19 words. I hope you won't hold it against me that I won't be able to answer

20 fully your question. As far as my health is concerned, doctors would be

21 able to provide you with a full answer. All I'm going to tell you is that

22 recently, I've had headaches, that I feel increased tension and anxiety,

23 and that I haven't been sleeping too well recently. All this is probably

24 due to my advanced age. As far as the rest is concerned, that is the

25 conditions in the detention unit and the staff there, I don't have any

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1 complaints about those. So much from me at this moment, and thank you

2 very much.

3 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you very much. You may be

4 seated. Now, Mr. Krnojelac, I would like to remind you, pursuant to

5 Articles 84 and 85 of the Rules of the detention, you can of course at any

6 moment submit a request or a complaint, depending on the circumstances, to

7 the head of the Detention Unit, and if necessary, to the Registrar.

8 I would now like to look at the situation of the appeal. Now if

9 we look at the status of the appeal, the Appeals Chamber has heard the

10 oral arguments of the parties at the hearing, at the appeals hearing, that

11 was held on the 14th and 15th of May, 2003. The appeal proceedings having

12 been thus completed, I have no particular questions to address to the

13 parties. However, I would like to ask the parties whether they have any

14 observations to make or any questions they would like to raise with me

15 now.

16 Mr. Bakrac?

17 MR. BAKRAC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I don't have any

18 questions. I don't have any issues to raise at this moment, and if you

19 will allow me, I hope I won't be too impertinent because I'm not here to

20 ask questions to be answered by the Chamber, but I would like to

21 communicate the message from my client, I suppose, that his anxiety and

22 tensions are the result of a certain uncertainty. I apologise once again

23 but I would like to ask you whether we can -- and when can we expect the

24 ruling of the Appeals Chamber? I hope I have not overstepped my -- what

25 I'm supposed to do, what I'm required to do, but this is just the

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1 consequence of the conversation that I've had with my client.

2 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you, Mr. Bakrac, no, not at

3 all. I'm going to reply to you after I have asked the Prosecutor whether

4 he had any questions or issues to raise, and then I will answer the

5 question that you have just asked.

6 MR. CARMONA: Your Honour, respectfully, we have none.

7 JUDGE GUNEY: [Interpretation] Thank you. Mr. Bakrac, regarding

8 the question that you have raised, a priori, the Appeals Chamber would

9 like to have their decision at the beginning of autumn. The parties will

10 certainly be timely informed when the time comes and thus, that will be

11 done through an order, depending on the calendar, and all that will be

12 publicly announced, and that's all. If there are any observations to make

13 or any other questions to ask? No?

14 Very well. Then considering there are no other issues or

15 questions, the current Status Conference can now be adjourned. So we are

16 adjourned. Thank you.

17 --- Whereupon the Status Conference

18 adjourned at 2.42 p.m.

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