IN THE TRIAL CHAMBER

Before:
Judge Richard May, Presiding
Judge Antonio Cassese
Judge Florence Ndepele Mwachande Mumba

Registrar:
Mrs. Dorothee de Sampayo Garrido-Nijgh

Order of:
29 September 1999

PROSECUTOR

v.

MILAN KOVACEVIC

_________________________________________________

ORDER CONCERNING VIDEO-TAPES

________________________________________________

The Office of the Prosecutor:

Ms. Brenda Hollis
Mr. Michael Keegan
Ms. Ann Sutherland

Counsel for the Deceased Accused:

Mr. Dusan Vucicevic

 

THIS TRIAL 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 ("International Tribunal"),

BEING SEISED OF a "Reply to correct inaccuracies and mis-statements in defence counsel letter dated 3 December 1998 re alleged failure to comply with Trial Chamber Orders regarding disclosed materials" filed by the Office of the Prosecutor ("Prosecution") on 15 December 1998 ("the Reply"), seeking the return of 11 video-tapes and requesting a hearing "on the issue of Defence non-compliance with the Trial Chamber order limiting further disclosure of materials provided to the Defence by the Prosecution",

NOTING its Order for Non-Disclosure issued on 3 July 1998, prohibiting the disclosure to the public of certain video-tapes provided to counsel for the deceased accused by the Prosecution ("the Order for Non-disclosure"),

NOTING its Order for Return of Video-tapes issued on 9 April 1999 requiring counsel for the deceased accused to return seven video-tapes identified therein within twenty-eight days of the date of the Order, together with its Orders for extension of time issued on 6 and 21 July 1999, extending the time period for return of the video-tapes until Tuesday 28 September 1999 ("the Orders for Return"),

NOTING the Notification of Receipt of Video-tapes filed by the Prosecution on 20 September 1999, and the response of counsel for the deceased accused filed on 22 September 1999,

CONSIDERING that it is acknowledged that six of the seven identified video-tapes have been returned, together with a seventh video-tape which was not specified in the Orders for Return,

CONSIDERING that there remains a dispute between the parties as to the fact of delivery to counsel for the deceased accused of the seventh video-tape subject to the Order for Non-disclosure and the Orders for Return,

CONSIDERING that this is not a matter capable of resolution by the Trial Chamber,

HEREBY

  1. SUSPENDS operation of the Orders for Return in so far as they impose a time-frame for compliance;
  2. CONFIRMS that the Order for Non-disclosure remains in full force and effect; and
  3. FURTHER ORDERS that, should counsel for the deceased accused at any time discover any information as to the whereabouts of the video-tape identified in the Confidential Annex hereto, counsel for the deceased accused shall advise the Prosecution and the Trial Chamber immediately and, if counsel for the deceased accused should at any time discover that the video-tape is in his possession, counsel for the deceased accused shall return the video-tape to the Prosecution immediately and inform the Trial Chamber accordingly.

 

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

___________________________
Richard May
Presiding Judge

Dated this twenty-ninth day of September 1999
At The Hague
The Netherlands

[Seal of the Tribunal]