Case No. IT-95-5/18-I

BEFORE A DUTY JUDGE OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL

Before:
Judge Inés Mónica Weinberg de Roca

Registrar:
Mr. Hans Holthuis

Order of:
13 November 2003

PROSECUTOR

v.

RATKO MLADIC

______________________________

ORDER ON PROSECUTION’S APPLICATION PURSUANT TO RULE 54bis

______________________________

The Office of the Prosecutor:

Ms Carla del Ponte

Serbia and Montenegro:

H.E. Mr Goran Svilanovic
Mr Andrew Cayley

 

I, Inés Mónica Weinberg de Roca, Duty Judge 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 SEIZED of the "Prosecution’s Application for an Order pursuant to Rule 54bis Directing Serbia and Montenegro to Comply with an Outstanding Request for Assistance", filed by the Prosecution on 12 November 2003 ("Application");

NOTING that Rule 28 (C) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Tribunal ("Rules") provides that all applications in a case not otherwise assigned to a Chamber, other than the review of indictments, shall be transmitted to the duty Judge, and that the duty Judge shall act pursuant to Rule 54 in dealing with applications under this Rule;

NOTING that Rule 54 of the Rules provides that at the request of either party or proprio motu, a Judge may issue such orders as may be necessary for the purposes of an investigation or for the preparation or conduct of the trial;

NOTING that Rule 54bis of the Rules provides, inter alia, that

  1. A party requesting an order under Rule 54 that a State produce documents or information shall apply in writing to the relevant Judge or Trial Chamber and shall:
    1. identify as far as possible the documents or information to which the application relates;

    2. indicate how they are relevant to any matter in issue before the Judge or Trial Chamber and necessary for a fair determination of that matter; and
    3. explain the steps that have been taken by the applicant to secure the State’s assistance.

CONSIDERING therefore that production of documents by a State is to be regulated by Rule 54bis;

CONSIDERING that the basis for Rule 54bis lies in the provision of Article 29 of the Statute of the International Tribunal, which provides, inter alia, that States shall comply without undue delay with any request for assistance or an order issued by a Trial Chamber, including, but not limited to, among others, the taking of testimony and the production of evidence;

RECALLING the "Judgement on the Request of the Republic of Croatia for Review of the Decision on Trial Chamber II of 18 July 1997", rendered by the Appeals Chamber on 29 October 1997 in Prosecutor v. Tihomir Blaskic, Case No. IT-95-14-AR108bis;

CONSIDERING that the Application has met the requirements of Rule 54bis (A);

CONSIDERING that, on 14 April 2003, the Prosecution sent a Request for Assistance ("RFA") (attached as Annex A to the Application) to Serbia and Montenegro in respect of investigation against the accused Ratko Mladic, but, as of 10 November 2003, Serbia and Montenegro have failed to provide the Prosecution with the requested file and other information relevant to the accused Ratko Mladic, even though the State’s officials have offered assurances on several occasions, as specified in the Application and the annexes thereto;

CONSIDERING, therefore, that the terms of Rule 54bis (E) are met, and that having regard to all circumstances surrounding the Application, the duty Judge considers there to be good reasons to make an order under that rule in favour of the Prosecution;

CONSIDERING, therefore, that pursuant to Rule 54bis (E), there is no need to hold a hearing of the Application, since the State of Serbia and Montenegro and the Prosecution have been in communication in relation to this matter and, more importantly, the State has expressed its willingness to cooperate with the International Tribunal and to assist in its investigations and proceedings;(1)

PURSUANT TO Article 29 of the Statute and Rules 28, 54 and 54bis of the Rules of the International Tribunal,

HEREBY GRANT the Application for an order under Rule 54bis of the Rules, and ORDER Serbia and Montenegro to comply with the RFA, pursuant to the time limit set out in Rule 54bis (E), to produce the following documents as specified in the RFA:

"The information should at least include the relevant periods General Ratko Mladic served within the JNA/VRS; copies of orders appointing him to the various positions; description of his duties/activities during the relevant periods he served; information about any rewards/medals he received during his career and finally whether or not he is a recipient of a State pension. If so, please provide full particulars of his pension number and the name and identification particulars of the bank/institution responsible for forwarding the payments to General Mladic".

 

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

_________
Inés Mónica Weinberg de Roca
Duty Judge

Dated this thirteenth day of November 2003,
At The Hague,
The Netherlands.

[Seal of the Tribunal]


1. See Annex C to the Application, containing a letter addressed to the Prosecutor of the International Tribunal from Mr. Goran Svilanovic, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Serbia and Montenegro, dated 12 September 2003.