| Press Release |
CHAMBERS
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| (Exclusively for the use of the media. Not an official document) |
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The Hague, 30 September 2011
VE/MOW/1447e
Trial Chamber rejects Vojislav Šešelj’s request to discontinue proceedings
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| Vojislav Šešelj |
The Trial Chamber yesterday rejected Vojislav Šešelj’s request to discontinue proceedings in his case, finding that he had failed to prove that his right to a trial within a reasonable period had been violated.
Vojislav Šešelj, the leader of the Serbian Radical Party, is on trial before the Tribunal for alleged war crimes committed between 1991 and 1994 against the non-Serb population from large parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Vojvodina, Serbia.
In its decision, the Chamber refers to its earlier decision of 10 February 2010, in which it argued that according to international and European jurisprudence, “there is no predetermined threshold with regard to the time period beyond which a trial may be considered unfair on account of undue delay.”
The Chamber further argues that Šešelj failed to provide concrete proof of abuse of process, besides the fact that his trial is still ongoing. According to the Chamber, Šešelj's comparison of the length of his detention to that of other accused in other national and international jurisdictions is not relevant and notes that some trials have far exceeded the length of his.
The Chamber notes that since its decision of 10 February 2010, proceedings have not been delayed nor suspended and Šešelj has not requested to be provisionally released.
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The full text of decision in French
Presiding Judge Antonetti’s separate individual opinion to the decision in French
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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
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