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Judge Ole Bjørn Støle of Norway was today sworn in as ad litem, or temporary, judge of the Tribunal. The UN Secretary-General appointed Judge Støle as a reserve ad litem judge to sit on the Popovic et al. trial. The trial, in which seven former senior Bosnian Serb military officials are charged with genocide against Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica, is due to commence on 14 July 2006
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Security Council resolution 1660 (2006) permits the UN Secretary-General to appoint, at the request of the Tribunal President, reserve judges from the Tribunal's pool of 27 ad litem Judges to specific trials. Reserve judges will be present at each stage of a trial and may replace a judge on a bench if he or she is unable to continue sitting.
This measure, resulting in Rule 15ter and amendments to Rule 15bis of the Tribunal's Rules of Procedure and Evidence assists the Tribunal in its efforts to complete its work by avoiding situations in which a specific trial would have to be restarted if one or more of the judges on the bench is unable to continue.
The Tribunal has 16 permanent judges elected by the UN General Assembly, as well as a maximum at any one time of 12 ad litem judges and three reserve judges.
The biography of Judge Støle, as well as all other permanent and ad litem judges, can be found on the Tribunal's website at www.un.org/icty/glance/index.htm.
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Courtroom proceedings can be followed on the Tribunal's website at www.un.org/icty.
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