1 Monday, 9 July 2007

2 [Status Conference]

3 [Open session]

4 [The appellant entered court]

5 --- Upon commencing at 3.01 p.m.

6 JUDGE MERON: Registrar, will you please call the case.

7 THE REGISTRAR: Good afternoon, Your Honour. This is case number

8 IT-03-66-A, the Prosecutor versus Fatmir Limaj, Haradin Bala, and

9 Isak Musliu.

10 JUDGE MERON: Thank you, registrar.

11 I understand that both counsel for Mr. Musliu and counsel for

12 Mr. Bala will be with us by teleconference. Because of technological

13 limitations, we can only have one of them with us at a time. Accordingly,

14 for the first few minutes I wish to deal exclusively with the appeals

15 related to Mr. Limaj and to Mr. Musliu.

16 Mr. Bala, we shall turn to you once your counsel is on the

17 teleconference, so you can be seated now.

18 THE APPELLANT BALA: [Interpretation] Thank you.

19 JUDGE MERON: Could I now, please, have the appearances of the

20 parties in the appeals related to Mr. Limaj and Mr. Musliu.

21 First the Prosecution, please.

22 MS. MARGETTS: Good afternoon, Your Honours. For the Prosecution,

23 Katharina Margetts, together with Shelagh McCall and our case manager,

24 Mr. Sebastiaan van Hooydonk. Thank you.

25 JUDGE MERON: Thank you.

1 Counsel for Mr. Limaj.

2 MR. KHAN: If it please Your Honour, Karim Khan for Fatmir Limaj.

3 JUDGE MERON: Thank you, Mr. Khan.

4 Thank you, Ms. Margetts.

5 Now, counsel for Mr. Musliu who should be with us by

6 teleconference, Mr. Powles.

7 MR. POWLES: [Via teleconference] Good afternoon, Your Honour, yes,

8 Steven Powles appearing by telephone link on behalf of Isak Musliu.

9 JUDGE MERON: Thank you, Mr. Powles.

10 This is, as you know, a Status Conference called in accordance

11 with Rule 65 bis of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence. I understand

12 that Mr. Limaj and Mr. Musliu, who are not currently incarcerated, are not

13 attending this Status Conference. Would their respective counsel kindly

14 confirm that for the record, Mr. Khan.

15 MR. KHAN: Your Honour, that's quite correct.

16 JUDGE MERON: And, Mr. Powles.

17 MR. POWLES: [Via teleconference] Your Honour, yes, that's correct

18 on behalf of Mr. Musliu as well.

19 JUDGE MERON: Mr. Powles, I would like to say a word to you, if I

20 may. I note that the Scheduling Order of 7 June 2007 stated, and I quote:

21 "Should counsel for a defendant seek to participate by teleconference

22 rather than in person, counsel should file the written consent of his

23 client to this effect at least one week prior to the Status Conference."

24 You have, I'm sorry to say, not only failed to meet the deadline

25 of one week notice, but you have failed to file any such written consent

1 at all. I'm distressed by this lapse, and I would like to know whether I

2 have your assurances that such a consent will be filed retroactively as

3 soon as possible.

4 Mr. Powles.

5 MR. POWLES: [Via teleconference] Your Honour, yes. May I firstly

6 of course offer my unreserved apologies for the tardiness in the filing of

7 such a document, and secondly, give my assurance that such a document will

8 be filed in due course as soon as it is able to make contact with

9 Mr. Musliu and obtain his written consent accordingly.

10 JUDGE MERON: If such a filing, Mr. Powles, is swiftly made and is

11 otherwise adequate, it shall be deemed valid without any further order

12 from me, but I emphasise it must be filed swiftly.

13 MR. POWLES: [Via teleconference] I am grateful for that, Your

14 Honour.

15 JUDGE MERON: Before asking any questions, I wish to note for

16 everyone's benefit that the Appeals Chamber is working on the draft

17 judgement, and my tentative guess is that we will issue it sometime not

18 too long after the summer recess.

19 Now I want to ask counsel for Mr. Limaj and for Mr. Musliu whether

20 there are any issues that their clients would like to raise through

21 counsel and also whether they have any other issues to raise at this time.

22 Mr. Khan.

23 MR. KHAN: Your Honour, I am grateful. There's no issues to be

24 raised on behalf of Fatmir Limaj.

25 JUDGE MERON: Thank you, Mr. Khan.

1 Mr. Powles.

2 MR. POWLES: [Via teleconference] Your Honour, no issues to

3 specifically raise on behalf of Mr. Musliu, save to give my -- my thanks

4 to all the registry and in particular to your legal assistant,

5 Ms. Jean Galbraith, for very helpfully facilitating my possibility for

6 appearing by telephone link today at such short notice.

7 JUDGE MERON: Thank you. Now, I would like now to turn to the

8 Prosecution and ask them whether they have any issues regarding the

9 appeals related to Mr. Limaj or to Mr. Musliu that they would like to

10 raise.

11 The Prosecution, Ms. Margaret.

12 MS. MARGETTS: No, Your Honours, there's nothing on behalf of the

13 Prosecution. Thank you.

14 JUDGE MERON: Thank you, Ms. Margaret.

15 Since this concludes all issues in relation to Mr. Musliu, we will

16 say good-bye to Mr. Powles and wait for a moment while the technical team

17 establishes contact with Mr. Guy-Smith. Good-bye, Mr. Powles.

18 Mr. Powles? Mr. Powles must have decided that he's now functo

19 officio with regard to this Status Conference and we will accept that --

20 I'm waiting for Mr. Guy-Smith to come on the line.

21 MR. GUY-SMITH: [Via teleconference] Hello.

22 JUDGE MERON: Mr. Guy-Smith?

23 MR. GUY-SMITH: [Via teleconference] Yes.

24 JUDGE MERON: So we -- this is Judge Meron and welcome to the

25 Status Conference.

1 MR. GUY-SMITH: [Via teleconference] Hello, Judge Meron, how are

2 you?

3 JUDGE MERON: Thank you.

4 MR. GUY-SMITH: [Via teleconference] Thank you for --

5 JUDGE MERON: Mr. Guy-Smith, before turning to the substance of

6 the Status Conference --

7 MR. GUY-SMITH: [Via teleconference] Yes.

8 JUDGE MERON: -- I wish also to make sure that Mr. Bala who is

9 present today can follow these proceedings.

10 Mr. Bala, can you hear the proceedings in a language that you

11 understand? Mr. Bala?

12 THE APPELLANT BALA: [Interpretation] Yes, Your Honour.

13 JUDGE MERON: Thank you, Mr. Bala. You may be seated.

14 This is a Status Conference called in accordance with Rule 65 bis

15 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence. Rule 65 bis (B) requires a Status

16 Conference to be convened within 120 days of the last Status Conference to

17 allow any person in custody pending appeal the opportunity to raise issues

18 in relation thereto, including the mental and physical condition of that

19 person.

20 The last Status Conference in this case held on 21 March 2007. As

21 Mr. Bala is currently detained in the United Nations Detention Unit, I

22 would like to start by asking Mr. Bala whether there are any issues that

23 he would like to raise at this time. Mr. Bala, do you have any issues or

24 concerns that you would like to raise, especially concerns regarding your

25 mental or physical well-being? I understand that you recently you have

1 undergone heart surgery, and I hope that you are recovering.

2 Mr. Bala.

3 THE APPELLANT BALA: [Interpretation] Yes, Your Honour. After the

4 surgery, I can freely say that I feel much better, but my overall health

5 is not that good because I'm facing some other health problems. For

6 example, I have problems with my eyesight and with lungs, among others.

7 Therefore, overall I would say that my health is not satisfactory;

8 however, I undergo regular treatment and therapy. We'll see how these

9 things develop.

10 JUDGE MERON: Thank you, Mr. Bala. It is my hope that you will

11 get better soon with regard to all of your health concerns, and I wish you

12 well in that regard.

13 You may now sit down, Mr. Bala.

14 THE APPELLANT BALA: [Interpretation] By your leave, I would like

15 to add something, Your Honour. As far as the appeals session is

16 concerned, I would like to apologise to the Trial Chamber and all those

17 present, during the second day of the appeals hearing for not being able

18 to be present on that day, and this was because of health reasons. And I

19 would like to thank the Appeals Chamber for allowing me not to be present

20 on that day. Thank you very much.

21 JUDGE MERON: Thank you, Mr. Bala, for the comment you have just

22 made. Of course I can assure you that the Appeals Chamber was well aware

23 of the fact that you had to absent yourself for good reasons of health,

24 which we fully accept.

25 Anything else, Mr. Bala?

1 THE APPELLANT BALA: [Interpretation] That would be all, Your

2 Honour. Thank you very much.

3 JUDGE MERON: Thank you, and you may be seated.

4 THE APPELLANT BALA: [Interpretation] Thank you.

5 JUDGE MERON: Now I would like to note for Mr. Guy-Smith's benefit

6 that I mentioned -- that as I mentioned to the others earlier, the Appeals

7 Chamber is working on the draft judgement, and my tentative guess is that

8 we will issue it sometimes not too long after the summer recess.

9 MR. GUY-SMITH: [Via teleconference] Thank you.

10 JUDGE MERON: Mr. Guy-Smith, do you have any issues you would wish

11 to raise at this time?

12 MR. GUY-SMITH: [Via teleconference] I have no issues that I wish

13 to raise at this time, Your Honour, and I thank you very much for the

14 information concerning when judgement --

15 [Albanian on English channel]

16 JUDGE MERON: Does the Prosecution have any issues to raise with

17 regard to the appeals related to Mr. Bala?

18 MS. MARGETTS: Your Honour, no, there's nothing on behalf of the

19 Prosecution. Thank you.

20 JUDGE MERON: Thank you, Ms. Margetts. On that note, I thank the

21 parties for their attendance today, and I also thank our technical team

22 for making our teleconferencing possible.

23 I call the proceedings to a close.

24 --- Whereupon the Status Conference

25 adjourned at 3.14 p.m.