Case No. IT-04-74-PT

Prosecutor v. Slobodan Praljak

DECISION

THE DEPUTY REGISTRAR,

CONSIDERING the Statute of the Tribunal as adopted by the Security Council under Resolution 827 (1993), and in particular Article 21 thereof;

CONSIDERING the Rules of Procedure and Evidence as adopted by the Tribunal on 11 February 1994, as subsequently amended ("Rules"), and in particular Rules 44 and 45 thereof;

CONSIDERING the Directive on Assignment of Defence Counsel, as adopted by the Tribunal on 28 July 1994, as subsequently amended ("Directive"), and in particular, Articles 6, 8, 10, and 11 thereof;

NOTING that on 5 April 2004, the day he was transferred to the Tribunal, Slobodan Praljak ("Accused") informed the Registry that he would not request the assignment of Tribunal-paid counsel and that he had retained Mr Kresmir Krsnik, attorney at law from Croatia, as counsel to represent him before the Tribunal;

NOTING that on 14 June 2004, the Accused informed the Registry that he had discontinued the services of Mr Krsnik and that he had engaged Mr Bozidar Kovacic, attorney at law from Croatia, as counsel to represent him before the Tribunal;

CONSIDERING that Mr Kovačić has represented the Accused as retained counsel until the present;

CONSIDERING that on 13 September 2004, the Accused submitted a declaration of means to the Registry of the Tribunal, thereby applying for the assignment of Tribunal-paid counsel on the basis that he did not have sufficient means to remunerate counsel;

CONSIDERING that on 13 September 2004, the Registry began an inquiry into the Accused’s ability to remunerate counsel pursuant to Article 10 of the Directive, and that the inquiry has continued until today’s date;

CONSIDERING that during the Registry’s inquiries, the Accused acknowledged that he has ownership interests in several assets and receives income;1

CONSIDERING that on 5 May 2005, the Accused requested the Registry to assign him Tribunal-paid counsel on an interim basis pursuant to Article 11(B) of the Directive until such time as the Registry finalized its inquiries into the Accused’s ability to remunerate counsel;

CONSIDERING that the Registry’s inquiries into the Accused’s ability to remunerate counsel have not been completed to date due to the Accused’s refusal to provide the Registry with information that is germane to the Registry’s inquiries;

CONSIDERING that the Registry has invited the Accused to provide this information on a number of occasions, the latest being on 24 February 2005, 1 April 2005 and 5 May 2005 but that to date the Accused has refused to do so and has refused to facilitate the Registry’s efforts to obtain that information from other sources;2

CONSIDERING that pursuant to Article 8(A) of the Directive, the burden of proof lies with the Accused to show that he does not have sufficient means to remunerate counsel;

CONSIDERING that by refusing to provide the information the Registry requires to complete its inquiries the Accused has, as further detailed in Confidential Ex Parte Appendix I, failed to meet his burden of proof;

CONSIDERING that despite the Accused’s failure to meet his burden of proof, the Registry has in good faith sought the pertinent information from the Governments of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and has recently received information from those sources which suggests that the Accused’s refusal to co-operate with the Registry’s inquiries is motivated by his desire to conceal significant assets from the Registry;

CONSIDERING that where a suspect or accused fails to show that he is unable to remunerate counsel, the Registrar need not assign counsel;

CONSIDERING that to assign the Accused counsel at this stage would reward him for failing to comply with the legal requirements of the Directive;

CONSIDERING that the Accused is currently represented by counsel;

DENIES the Accused’s request for the assignment of counsel;

INFORMS the Accused that his request for the assignment of counsel will be re-examined if and when he provides the Registry with the information that the Registry requires to conclude its inquiries into his ability to remunerate counsel.

___________
John Hocking
Deputy Registrar

Dated this 17th day of June 2005
At The Hague
The Netherlands


1. Confidential Ex Parte Appendix I, paragraph 5.
2. Confidential Ex Parte Appendix I, paragraphs 2 through 17.