The Judges mandate the President to present a long-term Judicial Strategy for the Tribunal

(Exclusively for the use of the media. Not an official document)

The Judges mandate the President to present a long-term Judicial Strategy for the Tribunal.

Today, Tuesday 18 April 2000, the Judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) held an extraordinary Plenary Session to agree on the future direction of the Tribunal. Their discussions focused specifically on ways to address the ever increasing judicial workload in the wake of recent arrests and in light of the Prosecutor’s strategy.

Convened by the President of the Tribunal, Judge Claude Jorda, this Plenary Session was the first to discuss a prospective study into what needs to be done to ensure that the Tribunal will be able to dispense efficient and timely international justice, as demanded by the victims and expected by the international community.

The Judges have looked at many different possibilities in order to come up with flexible and pragmatic solutions. They have mandated President Jorda to prepare a detailed report, which will be submitted to the appropriate authorities within weeks. The report by the President is also expected to detail measures which have already been taken to maximize the use of existing resources, in light of the recommendations contained in the Expert Group report and as announced by the President at his first press conference on 27 January 2000 (see the President’s Statement in Press Release 466).

At the invitation of the Judges, the Prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, presented an overview of her strategy envisaging the completion by 2004 of a total of 36 investigations of approximately 150 suspects, almost all at the highest level of responsibility (see the Prosecutor’s Statement in Press release 457 of 22 December 1999). This overview assisted the Judges in focusing their discussions on the specific challenges faced by the Tribunal.

It is the President’s intention to hold a Plenary once a year focusing on judicial management issues. Two Plenary Sessions are held in July and December to discuss the Tribunal’s Annual Report and the Rules of Procedure and Evidence.

*****
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
For more information, please contact our Media Office in The Hague
Tel.: +31-70-512-8752; 512-5343; 512-5356 - Email: press [at] icty.org ()
Follow ICTY on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube