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Please
note that this is not a verbatim transcript of the Press Briefing.
It is merely a summary.
ICTY Weekly Press Briefing
Date: 14.01.2004
Time: 12:30
REGISTRY AND CHAMBERS
Jim Landale, Spokesman for Registry and Chambers, made the following
statement
Good afternoon,
Happy New Year and welcome the first regular press
briefing of 2004.
As we begin the New Year, I feel it might be helpful to briefly
reflect on 2003. The past year has proved to be pivotal in the realm
of international justice, with, aside from the achievements at the
ICTY, important progress made at the International Criminal Court
(ICC), the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), and towards the
establishment of a Special Tribunal for Cambodia.
It is worth noting that the experience that the ICTY has gained
in the last 10 years in making international justice work has been
invaluable both to the international legal institutions that I have
mentioned, and to the continuing development of fair and impartial
war crimes courts in the former Yugoslavia.
In terms of the bare statistics that I have, the Tribunal accomplished
a great deal in 2003. Eleven judgements were rendered by either
the Trial Chambers or the Appeals Chamber (out of a total of 44
so far at the ICTY); the Chambers and Registry issued 539 Decisions
and 325 Orders; 424 witnesses testified (out of a total of 3,181);
six new indictments were issued against 12 individuals; 15 individuals
were transferred into the custody of the Tribunal; and four individuals
were transferred to serve sentence.
Above and beyond the raw data, the Tribunal has been deeply involved
in a number of other areas vital to the promotion of the rule of
law across the former Yugoslavia.
The President of the Tribunal, Judge Theodor Meron, with the support
of a number of ICTY staff, has been and continues to be deeply involved
in the establishment of the special War Crimes Chamber of the Court
of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Furthermore, the Tribunal’s Outreach Programme participated in
26 major events in 2003, such as seminars, conferences and training
programmes, which included 17 group visits to the Tribunal. These
were targeted mainly at local legal professionals from the region,
reflecting the effort invested by Tribunal in assisting national
judiciaries in the former Yugoslavia over the course of 2003.
In addition, the Public Information Section arranged 216 visits
to the Tribunal with over 5,000 participants made up of students,
legal professionals, military and police personnel and community
groups.
Looking ahead to 2004, there is still much to be done. The Tribunal
is focused on achieving the goals outlined by the Security Council
in resolution 1503 of August of last year, namely to complete trials
by the end of 2008 and appeals by 2010, and will continue to work
at maximum capacity, conducting up to six trials a day in its three
courtrooms.
However, it is worth stressing once again, that in order to successfully
complete its mandate, the Tribunal has to have full cooperation
from the states of the former Yugoslavia and the continued support
of the international community. First and foremost, this means the
apprehension and transfer of those still at large, especially Radovan
Karadzic, Ratko Mladic and Ante Gotovina.
The Tribunal will continue its efforts to promote and support the
ability of courts across the former Yugoslavia to try intermediate
and lower-level individuals charged with war crimes and will look
at the possibility, pursuant to the relevant rules, of transferring
such ICTY cases to those courts once they have reached the applicable
international standards, as envisaged by Security Council resolution
1503, while the Tribunal will continue to focus its attention on
trying the most senior political and military leaders here in The
Hague.
There will only be long lasting peace and reconciliation
in the former Yugoslavia if war criminals are tried and punished.
The culture of impunity is being gradually dismantled and the ICTY
has spearheaded this process through removing some of the most senior
war criminals from society and ending impunity, bringing justice
to thousands of victims across the former Yugoslavia, preventing
revisionism and removing the stain of collective guilt from communities
across the region.
With regard to the court schedule and in
addition to the ongoing trials
By our calculations there are 15 more court days
for the Prosecution to present its case in the Milosevic trial.
This means, on the current schedule and barring any unforeseen developments,
that they will wrap up their case on 17 February.
There will be a status conference in The Prosecutor
v. Stanisic and Simatovic on 20 January between 3 and 4.30 p.m.
in Courtroom II.
There will be a status conference in The Prosecutor
v. Milutinovic et al on 21 January between 3 and 4.30 p.m. in
Courtroom II.
There will be a status conference in The Prosecutor
v. Milan Martic et al on 22 January between 2.30 and 3.30 p.m.
in Courtroom II.
The accused are to be present at all three status
conferences.
There was no representative from the Office
of the Prosecutor today.
Questions
Asked whether the comment made about the courtroom
schedule holding up to six trials a day included new trials, Landale
replied that at least a couple of trials were almost ready to start
and when the press office had received the scheduling orders they
would be announced to the public.
Asked, since there were only 15 days left in the
Prosecution’s case, whether a decision had been taken by the Judges
on the duration of the break between the Prosecution and Defence
cases in the Milosevic trial and whether there was an outstanding
appeal, Landale confirmed that there was an outstanding appeal by
the amici curiae. He added that at the moment the decision
stood for there to be a three month period from the end of the Prosecution’s
case-in-chief to the start of Milosevic’s defence case.
Asked whether the Halilovic trial was scheduled
to commence on 22 January, Landale replied that the original scheduling
order was for 19 January, but that date had been set back.
Asked whether the Tribunal was to work with a lower
budget in the New Year as compared to past years and what the consequences
were, for example, re-organisation or staff cutbacks, Landale replied
that at the moment it was being looked into. He said that it was
a complex issue for many reasons, such as the US dollar/Euro exchange
rate. Landale added that a breakdown of the final result of the
budget was being worked on and that he would pass on the information
as soon as he had something concrete. He confirmed that there had
been a reduction in the budget, but did not want to comment further
until it became clear exactly what it was. With regard to re-organisation,
listing priorities, and rearrangement of staffing, Landale stated
that that was a work in progress, but at the moment there was a
period of reflection and clarification going on with regard to the
budget.
Briefing Documents
Prosecutor v. Miroslav Deronjic:
17 December 2003 "Order on Admission into
Evidence of Testimony of Expert Witness Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber".
18 December 2003 "Miroslav Deronjic’s Sentencing
Brief".
18 December 2003 "Prosecution’s Sentencing
Brief".
13 January 2004 "Decision on Prosecution Motion
for Extension of Pages".
Prosecutor v. Blagojevic and Jokic:
18 December 2003 "Decision on the Admission
into Evidence of Intercept-Related Materials".
19 December 2003 "Decision on Prosecution’s
Motion for Judicial Notice of Adjudicated Facts and Documentary
Evidence".
Prosecutor v. Slobodan Milosevic:
16 December 2003 "Prosecution Submission of
an Expert Report of Reynaud J.M. Theunens Pursuant to Rule 94 bis".
17 December 2003 "Decision on prosecution
Submission of expert Statements Pursuant to Rule 94 bis".
17 December 2003 "Amici Curiae Reply to Confidential
Prosecution Motion for the Admission of Written Evidence Produced
by the Witness Melika Malesevic under Rule 89© of the Rules
of Procedure and Evidence Dated 12 December 2003".
17 December 2003 "Thirteenth Decision on Applications
Pursuant to Rule 54 bis of Prosecution and Serbia and Montenegro".
17 December 2003 "Prosecution Reply to Amici
Curiae response to Prosecution Submission of an Addendum to the
Expert Report of Philip Coo".
23 December 2003 "Prosecution Submission of
an Expert Report of General Ferenc Vegh Pursuant to Rule 94 bis".
Prosecutor v. Momcilo Krajisnik:
17 December 2003 "Submission of Statement
of Dr. Christian Nielsen".
Prosecutor v. Vojislav Seselj:
22 December 2003 "Decision on Motion Number
28".
30 December 2003 "Decision".
Prosecutor v. Milomir Stakic:
30 December 2003 "Milomir Stakic’s Response
to the Prosecution’s Appeal Brief".
Prosecutor v. Stanislav Galic:
22 December 2003 "Decision on Request for
Extension of Time to File Notice of Appeal".
Prosecutor v. Momir Nikolic:
30 December 2003 "Momir Nikolic’s Notice of
Appeal".
Prosecutor v. Enver Hadzihasanovic and Amir
Kubura:
19 December 2003 "Decision on the Refreshment
of a Witness’s Memory and on a Motion for Certification to Appeal".
19 December 2003 "Decision Relative au Rafraichissement
de la Memoire d’un Temoin et a une Demande de Certification d’appel".
Prosecutor v. Pavle Strugar:
19 December 2003 "Defence Submission On Objection
To The Prosecution’s Opening Statement".
19 December 2003 "Decision on the Defence Motion for a Medical
Examination of the Accused Pursuant to Rule 74 bis of the
Rules".
Prosecutor v. Mejakic, Gruban, Fustar and
Knezevic:
13 January 2004 "Defence’s Request for and extension of Time".
Prosecutor v. Miroslav Radic:
12 January 2004 "Registry Comments on Radic’s Defence Request
for Review of the Registrar’s Decision of 7 October 2003".
Prosecutor v. Mitar Rasevic:
12 January 2004 "Defence’s Preliminary Motion on the Form
of the Indictment Pursuant to Rule 72 (A) (ii)".
Prosecutor v. Blagoje Simic:
13 January 2004 "Motion of Blagoje Simic for Extension of
Time to File Appellate Brief and Request for Expedited Decision".
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