Case No. IT-03-69-I

Prosecutor v. Franko Simatovic

DECISION

THE 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 (hereinafter "the Rules") as adopted by the Tribunal on 11 February 1994, as subsequently amended, and in particular Rules 44 and 45 thereof;

CONSIDERING the Directive on Assignment of Defence Counsel (hereinafter "the Directive"), as adopted by the Tribunal on 28 July 1994, as subsequently amended, and in particular Articles 6,7 and 11 (C);

CONSIDERING that on 30 May 2003, Mr. Franko Simatovic (hereinafter "the accused") requested that Mrs. Neda Gajovic, attorney at law from Belgrade, be appointed as his defence counsel;

CONSIDERING that the accused was transferred to the seat of the Tribunal on 30 May 2003 and that his initial appearance pursuant to Rule 62 of the Rules is scheduled for 2 June 2003;

CONSIDERING that Mrs. Neda Gajovic is not listed on the Rule 45 list of counsel who are eligible to be considered for an assignment;

CONSIDERING that Mrs. Neda Gajovic worked as a criminal judge for the Third Municipal Court of Belgrade from 1981 to 1989 and was admitted to the Belgrade Bar Association in February 2002;

CONSIDERING that Mrs. Neda Gajovic has stated in her curriculum vitae that she speaks English and that she is about to become a member of the Association of Defence Counsel practicing before the Tribunal and recognized by the Registrar on 4 October 2002;

CONSIDERING HOWEVER that Mrs. Neda Gajovic must still provide the Registry with additional information specifying that she possesses the reasonable experience in criminal and/or international law as required by the Rules, particularly with serious criminal cases;

CONSIDERING that the accused has not yet provided the Registry with his declaration of means;

CONSIDERING that the Registrar may, in the interests of justice assign a counsel on the basis of Article 11 (C) of the Directive;

DECIDES to assign Mrs. Neda Gajovic as counsel for the accused on a temporary basis for the purpose of representing him during the initial appearance.

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Hans Holthuis
Registrar

Dated this second day of June 2003
At The Hague
The Netherlands