080122ED

Page 26458

1 Tuesday, 22 January 2008

2 [Open session]

3 [The accused entered court]

4 [The accused Pusic not present in Court]

5 --- Upon commencing at 9.00 a.m.

6 JUDGE ANTONETTI: [Interpretation] Registrar, kindly call the case,

7 please.

8 THE REGISTRAR: Good morning, Your Honours. Good morning everyone

9 in and around the courtroom. This is case number IT-04-74-T, the

10 Prosecution versus Prlic et al. Thank you, Your Honours.

11 JUDGE ANTONETTI: [Interpretation] Thank you, registrar.

12 Today we are Tuesday, the 22nd of January, 2008. I'd like to

13 greet Mr. Scott, Defence counsel and the accused. I can see that

14 Mr. Scott has got a lectern in front of him which means we're going to be

15 hearing a witness but prior to that I have two oral decisions to read out

16 then I will move into private session to address another issue.

17 First oral decision relating to the reply which the Prosecution

18 must make. On the 18th of January 2008 Stojic [as interpreted] Defence

19 team asked to have an extension of time in order to be able to present

20 it's own case. The Defence in its submission has asked more or less to

21 have three months between the end of the Prosecution case and the

22 presentation of its own case and the testimony of its first witness.

23 As the Trial Chamber will hand out a decision, the Trial Chamber

24 is asking the Prosecution, i.e., Mr. Scott, to tell us what his

25 observations for tomorrow are relating to this particular issue. Unless

Page 26459

1 Mr. Scott is able to respond to this straight away.

2 MR. SCOTT: Good morning, Your Honours, Mr. President, all of Your

3 Honours. Good morning to each of you, and good morning to all those in

4 and around the courtroom. I am able to briefly respond, Your Honours, if

5 it will assist the Chamber to go ahead and take that now.

6 We also did file a very short two-page response yesterday and it

7 may not have reached -- it may not have reached the Chamber yet, but in a

8 nutshell, Your Honour, the Prosecution on review of the motion that's been

9 filed has basically two positions, one on the question of the date of

10 starting the Defence cases and one on the question of the filing of the

11 Defence papers.

12 In connection with the time I'll take that first. The Prosecution

13 is agreeable to -- not to an extension to the middle of June but an

14 extension until the middle of April, until approximately the 14th of

15 April, which would be an additional one-month period. Prosecution has no

16 problem with -- with agreeing to that, understands that everyone,

17 including the Prosecution, the Chamber, and the Defence has been quite

18 busy over the past weeks and it may be in everyone's best interest, and in

19 particular the Defence, to have some additional time to prepare. So I

20 suppose we have a middle ground position. We're not agreeable to the

21 extension to the 16th of -- 17th of June, but we would be agreeable to an

22 extension to approximately the 14th of April or sometime in the second

23 half of April.

24 In terms of the document filings, however, Your Honour, the

25 Prosecution asks that those remain the same, that in terms of receiving

Page 26460

1 the witness list, the Defence filings under Rule 65 ter that we would have

2 those, Your Honour.

3 The Chamber will recall that -- my apologies for speaking so

4 quickly this morning.

5 The Chamber will recall that for the Prosecution case our

6 disclosures, of course, were months and even years ahead of the beginning

7 of the case. Our Rule 65 ter list was filed at least four months or five

8 months before the trial started after a period of at least two years of

9 disclosure and discovery. So in a nutshell, Your Honour, we believe and

10 submit and ask that the Chamber's scheduling concerning the filing of the

11 Defence papers, that is their exhibit list, the witness list, et cetera,

12 be done according to the current schedule, that is by the 3rd of March,

13 but as to the beginning of the case itself, that we would be agreeable to

14 an extension until mid-April. Thank you.

15 JUDGE ANTONETTI: [Interpretation] Very well. Now, two sum up your

16 position, to sum up your position, but prior to that there's a mistake in

17 the transcript on line 17 page 1. It's not Stojic Defence but Defence

18 teams overall.

19 So to sum up your position, I think Ms. Nozica wanted to take the

20 floor on this matter, but I'll give you the floor later.

21 Now, to sum up, two important -- two -- two issues you address.

22 You would like to maintain the schedule as is concerning the filing of the

23 lists. However, as far as the beginning of the Defence case is concerned,

24 in other words, the testimony of the first witness, you are against the

25 17th of June because that would be three months. However, you -- you

Page 26461

1 would accept this if it were set towards the end of April.

2 I think I have summed up what you have said.

3 Ms. Nozica, let me give you the floor. What would you like to

4 say?

5 MS. NOZICA: [Interpretation] Good morning. Thank you, Your

6 Honours. I fully support this proposal of the Defence, but you have just

7 corrected yourself. This was not the proposal only of Stojic Defence but

8 of all Defence teams.

9 JUDGE ANTONETTI: [Interpretation] So second decision, oral

10 decision, relating to the application for admission of the exhibit number

11 2D 00591.

12 On the 18th of January, 2008, Stojic Defence team seized the

13 Chamber for an application -- of an application for admission of the

14 Exhibit number 2D 00591. This exhibit had been presented through the

15 witness Ciril Ribicic who testified on the 10th and 11th of December,

16 2007.

17 The Stojic Defence team had applied for the admission of this

18 exhibit on the 12th of December, 2007, through its list IC 00753. On the

19 15th of January, 2008, the Trial Chamber dismissed this, the application

20 of this exhibit, on the ground that the translation in English was not

21 input in the e-court system. The Trial Chamber would like to recall the

22 parties, however, that it has the power to reconsider its own decisions if

23 particular circumstances come to light. This may relate to new facts or

24 new submissions which would substantiate such a reconsideration in order

25 to avoid any injustice.

Page 26462

1 The Trial Chamber notes that the Exhibit 2D 00591 is now being

2 fully input in the e-court system and that the Defence of Stojic has

3 disclosed the English translation in a very short space of time following

4 the decision of the Trial Chamber of the 15th of January, 2008. The Trial

5 Chamber acknowledges that this exhibit was also presented to the witness

6 Ciril Ribicic in that it shows sufficient indications of relevance,

7 probative value, and reliability. Consequently, the Trial Chamber decides

8 to admit as an exception 2D 00591.

9 I will now like to move into private session for a very short

10 time, registrar, please.

11 [Private session]

12 (redacted)

13 (redacted)

14 (redacted)

15 (redacted)

16 (redacted)

17 (redacted)

18 (redacted)

19 (redacted)

20 (redacted)

21 (redacted)

22 (redacted)

23 (redacted)

24 (redacted)

25 (redacted)

Page 26463

11 Page 26463 redacted. Private session

Page 26464

1 (redacted)

2 (redacted)

3 (redacted)

4 (redacted)

5 (redacted)

6 (redacted)

7 (redacted)

8 (redacted)

9 (redacted)

10 [Open session]

11 THE REGISTRAR: Your Honours, we're back in open session.

12 JUDGE ANTONETTI: [Interpretation] Very well. In open session I

13 would like to give the floor to the registrar because he has a number of

14 IC numbers to give us.

15 THE REGISTRAR: Thank you, Your Honours. The OTP has submitted

16 its response to documents entered by 2D, 3D, and 4D through Witness

17 Thornberry. These responses submitted by the OTP shall be given Exhibit

18 number IC 785, 786, and 787 respectively. Thank you, Your Honours.

19 JUDGE ANTONETTI: [Interpretation] Very well. Thank you,

20 registrar. We shall now move into closed session.

21 [Closed session]

22 (redacted)

23 (redacted)

24 (redacted)

25 (redacted)

Page 26465

11 Pages 26465-26574 redacted. Closed session