BEFORE A BENCH OF THE APPEALS CHAMBER

Before:
Judge Lal Chand Vohrah, Presiding
Judge Wang Tieya
Judge Rafael Nieto-Navia

Registrar:
Mrs. Dorothee de Sampayo Garrido-Nijgh

Decision of:
18 August 1999

THE PROSECUTOR

v.

Zoran KUPRESKIC, Mirjan KUPRESKIC, Vlatko KUPRESKIC,
Drago JOSIPOVIC, Dragan PAPIC, Vladimir SANTIC, also known as "VLADO"

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DECISION ON APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL

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The Office of the Prosecutor:

Mr. Franck Terrier
Mr. Michael Blaxill

Counsel for the Accused:

Mr. Ranko Radovic, Mr. Tomislav Pasaric, for Zoran Kupreskic
Ms. Jadranka Slokovic-Glumac, Ms. Desanka Vranjican, for Mirjan Kupreskic
Mr. Borislav Krajina, Mr. Zelimir Par, for Vlatko Kupreskic
Mr. Luko Susak, Ms. Goranka Herljevic, for Drago Josipovic
Mr. Petar Puliselic, Ms. Nika Pinter, for Dragan Papic
Mr. Petar Pavkovic, Mr. Mirko Vrdoljak, for Vladimir Santic

 

THIS BENCH of 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 "Request of the Defence Counsel for Drago Josipovic for the SsicC Leave to Appeal against the Trial Chamber’s Order on Application for Provisional Release of Zoran Kupreskic, Mirjan Kupreskic, Drago Josipovic and Dragan Papic of 30 July 1999", filed by fax on 5 August 1999, and the hard copy entitled "Appeal against the Trial Chamber’s Order on Application for Provisional Release of Zoran Kupreskic, Mirjan Kupreskic, Drago Josipovic and Dragan Papic of 30 July 1999", filed on 9 August 1999 (together "the Request");

NOTING the "Order on Application for Provisional Release of Zoran Kupreskic, Mirjan Kupreskic, Drago Josipovic and Dragan Papic", issued by Trial Chamber II and filed on 30 July 1999 ("the Order");

NOTING that sub-Rule 65 (D) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Tribunal ("the Rules") provides, inter alia, that any "decision rendered under this Rule shall be subject to appeal in cases where leave is granted by a bench of three Judges of the Appeals Chamber, upon good cause being shown", and that applications "for leave to appeal shall be filed within seven days of the impugned decision";

CONSIDERING that the Request was filed within time;

CONSIDERING that the Trial Chamber erred in that, in its Order, it rejected the application of the Accused Drago Josipovic ("the Appellant") for provisional release, on the ground that "it may be justifiably inferred from" the response of the authorities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in relation to Zoran Kupreskic and Mirjan Kupreskic, that "adequate security measures would also not be forthcoming should another request be issued by the International Tribunal with respect to Drago Josipovic and Dragan Papic", despite the fact that the request had not heretofore conveyed to the authorities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to seek their guarantee of the return of the Appellant, and that the Appellant had once been provisionally released by the Trial Chamber;

CONSIDERING, HOWEVER, that sub-Rule 65 (B) of the Rules provides for the cumulative criteria for ordering provisional release, including the one of exceptional circumstances;

CONSIDERING that no exceptional circumstance has been shown in the Appellant’s motion for provisional release which was rejected by the Order;

FINDING THEREFORE that the Request has not shown good cause;

HEREBY DISMISSES the Request.

 

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

___________________________
Lal Chand Vohrah
Presiding Judge

Dated this eighteenth day of August 1999
At The Hague,
The Netherlands.

[Seal of the Tribunal]