IN THE TRIAL CHAMBER

Before:
Judge Almiro Rodrigues, Presiding
Judge Fouad Riad
Judge Patricia Wald

Registrar:
Mr. Hans Holthuis

Decision of:
29 March 2001

THE PROSECUTOR

v.

MIROSLAV KVOCKA
MILOJICA KOS
MLADO RADIC
ZORAN ZIGIC
DRAGOLJUB PRCAC

_________________________________________________________

DECISION ON MOTION FOR VARIANCE OF LENGTH
OF PROSECUTION’S FINAL BRIEF

_________________________________________________________

The Office of the Prosecutor:

Ms. Susan Somers
Mr. Kapila Waidyaratne
Mr. Daniel Saxon

Defence Counsel:

Mr. Krstan Simic for Miroslav Kvocka
Mr. Zarko Nikolic for Milojica Kos
Mr. Toma Fila for Mladjo Radic
Mr. Slobodan Stojanovic for Zoran Žigic
Mr. Jovan Simic for Dragoljub Prcac

 

TRIAL CHAMBER I ("the 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 Tribunal"),

SEISED OF the "Motion for Variance of Length of Prosecution’s Final Brief" filed on 23 March 2001 ("the Motion"), in which the Prosecution asks for authorisation to file a final brief of 500 pages instead of the 200 pages stipulated in the Practice Direction on the Length of Briefs and Motions, Document IT/184, issued on 19 January 2001 ("the Practice Direction");

NOTING the submissions of the Prosecution that 200 pages is inadequate in a case against five accused; that to hold them to the 200 page limit would violate the principle of equality between the parties, as the Prosecution will have only 40 pages to devote to each accused, while each accused will have 200 pages in which to summarise his defence; and that 200 pages is insufficient in view of the amount of evidence produced during the trial;

CONSIDERING that a party seeking authorisation to exceed the page limits set out in the Practice Direction must provide an explanation of the exceptional circumstances that necessitate the oversized filing;

CONSIDERING that the fact that there are five accused in this trial does not of itself constitute an exceptional circumstance, and that, generally speaking in this case, the same facts underlie the charges against each accused in the indictment;

CONSIDERING that the Chamber issued a "Decision on Judicial Notice" in this matter on 8 June 2000, in which several of the general elements of crimes against humanity were found to have existed at the times and places alleged in the indictment, so that these elements no longer remain to be proven by the Prosecution;

CONSIDERING that it violates no principle of equality to impose the same page limit for final briefs upon each different defence team as upon the Prosecution;

CONSIDERING that the volume of evidence which has been and remains to be presented during the trial falls squarely within the parameters of an average case before the Tribunal;

FINDING that no exceptional circumstances have been made out;

HEREBY DENIES the Motion.

 

Done in English.

___________
Almiro Rodrigues
Presiding Judge

Dated this twenty-ninth day of March 2001,
At The Hague
The Netherlands.

[Seal of the Tribunal]