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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: 29.10.2003
Time: 12:20
REGISTRY AND
CHAMBERS
Jim Landale, Spokesman for Registry and Chambers, made the following statement
Good afternoon,
I am pleased to be joined
here today not only by Florence, but also by Stéphane Bourgon, the newly-elected
President of the Association of Defence Counsel for the ICTY. Following Florence,
he will make a statement and then be available for questions.
Tomorrow, 30 October,
the Tribunal is hosting a Donors Conference which has been organized by the
Office of the High Representative in Sarajevo to raise funds from the international
community for the Special War Crimes Chamber of the State Court of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. We are planning to hold a press conference for Ambassador Bernard
Fassier, the Senior Deputy High Representative and Head of the Rule of Law Unit
at the OHR, and the President of the ICTY, Judge Theodor Meron, which has been
tentatively scheduled for 5 p.m. We will keep you advised of any changes.
As you should have seen
from our press release yesterday, on 27 October 2003, the President of the Tribunal,
Judge Theodor Meron, issued an "Order of the President on the Application
for Early Release of Milan Simic" in which he decided to grant the
request, effective 3 November 2003.
In terms of other court
documents:
On 22 October, in The
Prosecutor v. Slobodan Milosevic, we received from the Presiding Judge of
the Appeals Chamber, Judge Meron, an "Order on the Schedule of Briefing",
in which Judge Meron informed the Accused "that if he wishes to file
a brief in this appeal for the consideration by the Appeals Chamber, he should
do so no later than Monday, 3 November 2003". The appeal in
question being the "Interlocutory Appeal by the Amici Curiae Against
the Trial Chamber Order Concerning the Presentation and Preparation of the Defence
Case Dated 17 September 2003", filed on 1 October 2003.
On 23 October in this case,
Trial Chamber III issued its "Order Appointing Branko Rakic as Legal
Associate to the Accused".
Again on 23 October in the
Milosevic case, the Prosecution filed its "Response to the Order to
the Right Honourable Lord Owen to Testify and to Provide Written Statement Prior
to Testifying".
On the same day in the same
case we received the "Amici Curiae Reply to Prosecution Submission of
the Expert Reports of Helge Brunborg Pursuant to Rule 94 Bis and Motion for
the Admission of Transcripts Pursuant to Rule 92 Bis (D) Dated 20 October 2003".
On the following day in
the Milosevic case, the amici curiae filed their "Reply to Prosecution
Submission of an Addendum to the Expert Report of Colonel Ivan Grujic Dated
15 October 2003".
On 28 October in the Milosevic
case, the Appeals Chamber (Judges Pocar, presiding, Shahabuddeen, Hunt, Guney
and Weinberg De Roca) rendered its "Decision on the Prosecution’s Interlocutory
Appeal Against the Trial Chamber’s 10 April 2003 Decision on Prosecution Motion
for Judicial Notice of Adjudicated Facts", in which the Appeal Chamber,
by majority, Judge Hunt dissenting, returned "the matter to the Trial
Chamber for it to review the taking of judicial notice of the adjudicated facts
in accordance with the present decision".
On 22 October in The
Prosecutor v. Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic, we received from Trial
Chamber III the "Decision on Defence (Jovica Stanisic) Motion for Medical
Examination Pursuant to Rule 74bis", in which the Trial Chamber denied
the motion.
On 22 October in The
Prosecutor v. Sefer Halilovic, we received the "Response to Prosecution’s
‘Response’ Qua Withdrawal of Counsel".
On 23 October in The
Prosecutor v. Ivica Rajic, we received a "Motion for Leave to Amend
Indictment".
On 23 October in The
Prosecutor v. Strugar and Kovacevic, we received the "Prosecution’s
Submission of Expert Report Pursuant to Rule 94 bis".
On 23 October in The
Prosecutor v. Vojislav Seselj, we received the "Prosecution’s Response
to Vojislav Seselj’s ‘Motion Number 21’".
Then on 27 October we received
Trial Chamber II’s "Decision on Motion Number 21", in which
the Trial Chamber found that "until such time as the Accused officially
engages counsel pursuant to Rule 44 of the Rules, said counsel may not appear
in any pre-trial or procedural hearings in this case" and invited "the
Accused, if he seeks the assistance and presence of counsel of his own choosing
during pre-trial and procedural hearings, to officially engage such counsel
by following the procedure laid down in Rule 44 of the Rules".
On 23 October in The
Prosecutor v. Dragan Nikolic, we received the "Prosecution’s Sentencing
Brief".
On 23 October in The
Prosecutor v. Mrksic, Radic and Sljivancanin, we received the "Preliminary
Motion of the Accused Radic Pursuant The Rule 72(A)(ii)".
With regard to the court
schedule and in addition to the ongoing trials:
On 22 October, in The
Prosecutor v. Mitar Vasiljevic, President Meron as presiding Judge of the
Appeals Chamber ordered that the hearing of the appeal in this case be held
on Tuesday, 18 November 2003.
The initial appearance of
Vladimir Kovacevic will now be held on Monday 3 November 2003 commencing at
3 p.m. in Courtroom I.
There will be a status conference
in The Prosecutor v. Ivica Rajic on Monday 3 November 2003 commencing
at 10 a.m.
There will be a status conference
in The Prosecutor v. Naser Oric on Tuesday 25 November 2003 commencing
at 3 p.m.
On 23 October in The
Prosecutor v. Hadzihasanovic and Kubura, Trial Chamber II ordered inter
alia, that there will be a Status Conference on Thursday 6 November from
3 to 5 p.m. in Courtroom I; that each Accused surrender to the custody of the
Tribunal on Monday 17 November 2003; that the Pre-Trial Conference be held on
Monday 24 November 2003, from 2.15 p.m. till 7 p.m. in Courtroom I during which
Amir Kubura will enter a plea in relation to a new charge in the latest version
of the indictment; and that the trial commence on 2 December 2003.
In The Prosecutor v.
Dragan Nikolic, Trial Chamber II has ordered that the Sentencing Judgement
in this case will be rendered on 18 December at 2 p.m.
Reminder that the sentencing
hearing in this case is scheduled to take place between 3 and 7 November 2003.
One change to the published
schedule: The sentencing hearing in the Momir Nikolic case will continue today
at 3 p.m. in Courtroom I.
The sentencing hearing in
the Dragan Obrenovic case will now commence tomorrow, Thursday 30 October, at
3 p.m. in Courtroom I.
With regard to this case,
on 23 October we received the "Prosecution’s Supplemental Submission
Regarding the Sentencing of Dragan Obrenovic".
All the documents I’ve mentioned
are available from us on request.
Office of the Prosecutor:
Florence Hartmann,
Spokeswoman for the Office of the Prosecutor, made no statement
Association of Defence Counsel
for the ICTY:
Stéphane Bourgon,
President of the Association of Defence Counsel for the ICTY, made the following
statement:
Good morning ladies and
gentlemen,
Further to the second annual
General Assembly of the Association of Defence Counsel Practicing before the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia - commonly known as
the ADC – ICTY - it is a great pleasure for me to join you this morning for
your weekly press briefing.
First, as you were informed
in our latest press release, on 25 October members of the ADC elected a new
Executive Committee composed of Mr. Branko Lukic from Bosnia and Herzegovina
as Vice-President, Mr. Stefan Kirsh from Germany also as Vice-President, Mr.
Zeljko Par from Croatia as Secretary and Mrs. Mira Tapuskovic from Serbia and
Montenegro as Treasurer.
My name is Stéphane
Bourgon and I have been elected as President.
For personal reasons, the
first President of the Association, Mr. John Ackerman, decided not to seek re-election.
I am nevertheless glad to confirm that Mr. Ackerman will remain closely associated
with the new Executive Committee.
As you know, the ADC-ICTY
is a very young association which is only in its second year of activities.
Much as been accomplished since the creation of the Association in 2002, which
can be attributed both to the efforts of the first Executive Committee as well
as to the noteworthy cooperation of the Registrar, Mr. Hans Holthuis and his
staff. Nonetheless, Defence Counsel practicing before the International Tribunal
are of the view that many issues remain outstanding which need to be addressed
with a view to ensuring that Defence Counsel have the ability to fully protect
the rights of the accused they represent, in conformity with applicable instruments
and internationally recognised standards.
It is evident for members
of the Association that the main issue facing the Tribunal today is the ‘completion
strategy’ put forward by the President of the Tribunal and endorsed by the Security
Council.
Defence Counsel understand
the importance of this strategy for the Tribunal.
That being said, members
of the Association firmly believe that the ‘completion strategy’ cannot and
will not succeed unless its impact on the rights of the Accused before the International
Tribunal is fully taken into consideration.
For this reason, the main
objective of the new Executive Committee of the ADC for the coming year, will
be to ensure that Defence Counsel are consulted at every step of the process
and that they be given an opportunity put forward their views and contribute
to the success of the ‘completion strategy’.
For the time being, in practical
terms, this translates into participation of the ADC in ongoing discussions
within Chambers, the Office of the Prosecutor and the Registry on the following
issues:
- The adoption of new
qualification requirements for Defence Counsel practicing before the International
Tribunal;
- The modification of
the Rules of Procedure and Evidence related to the introduction of evidence,
namely the proposed new Rules 65 ter and 92 ter;
- The development of
the electronic disclosure system; and
- The adoption of a new
legal aid policy for the pre-trial phase of the proceedings.
In conclusion, members of
the ADC-ICTY are of the view that even though the Defence is not recognised
as an organ of the International Tribunal, pursuant to the Statute, it is an
essential element of the proceedings which has a most definite role to play
in allowing the Tribunal to accomplish its mission.
In the past, it has been
said that the Defence is like the fourth leg of a chair without which it cannot
stand.
We, Defence Counsels, prefer
to see ourselves as the last bastion against the danger of the arbitrary; considering
that fair trials are paramount to the success of the International Tribunal.
The ADC-ICTY embarks on
its second year of activities with the most positive of attitudes and looks
forward to establishing a most productive working relationship with the three
organs of the Tribunal.
To this end, over the next
few days, I hope to meet with the President, the Prosecutor and the Registrar
of the Tribunal with a view to discussing the modalities of such cooperation.
As for the relationship
between the Association and you, the representatives of the media, the ADC wishes
to be (1) visible and (2) available; and for this purpose, we will endeavour
to be represented at every weekly press briefing.
I am glad to have had the
opportunity to meet you this morning and it will be my pleasure to answer any
questions you may have.
Questions:
A journalist asked for more
information regarding who specifically would be present at the Donors Conference,
Landale replied that he could not be specific since this conference had been
organized by the Office of the High Representative (OHR) which was the lead
organization. The Conference would have delegations from a number of different
countries and hopefully they would pledge support in financial terms to the
Special War Crimes Chamber of the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In
terms of who exactly was participating and which delegations, Landale referred
the journalist to the OHR. He added that if and when he was in a position to
make this information available, he would gladly do so.
Asked to confirm that Ambassador
Pierre-Richard Prosper, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues would
be present at the Donors Conference tomorrow, Landale replied that he was not
in a position to do so, and suggested the journalist to contact the U.S. Embassy.
A journalist asked Stéphane
Bourgon why the Association of Defence Counsel for the ICTY had chosen to put
a quote from a dissenting opinion of Judge Hunt, in which he wrote that the
rights of the accused were in peril, on their homepage of their website and
whether this meant that they agreed with this dissenting opinion. Bourgon replied
that it was indeed significant that they had put a quote of a Judge on their
website and that it was put there not because they agreed or disagreed with
the Judgement, but more to remind Defence Counsel as to why they were here,
what their duty was and why there was such a thing as Defence Counsel in these
proceedings. He added that their utmost priority was to protect the rights of
the accused which they would do so.
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