The Judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) held their 23rd Plenary Session between 29 November and 1 December 2000, during which they focused on amending a number of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence. The amendments will be available from the Public Information Services and posted on the relevant ICTY’s internet page in due course.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

- The election of Judges for the 2001 to 2005 term of office was discussed. The election is likely to take place at the end of February 2001.

- The appointment of the new Registrar was also discussed. The Judges and the Prosecutor were consulted on the issue through the President of the Tribunal, Judge Claude Jorda. The decision rests with the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, who is expected to appoint the new Registrar before Christmas.

- The Directive on the Assignment of Defence Counsel was reviewed and approved by the Judges.

- The Judges reviewed the budget process for 2001. The Judges expressed concern about the severe cuts that were made to the proposed budget at the first stages of the review process. The Judges have insisted on the resources necessary to implement the reforms for the ad litem judges.

- The Prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, appeared in front of the Plenary. She updated the Judges on the activities of her office and confirmed that she was still on target to complete her investigations by 2004, and that those investigations were likely to yield 30 or so trials, involving 150 accused.