Milan Vujin, former Counsel for Dusko Tadic, found in contempt of the Tribunal, and fined 15,000 Dutch Guilders.

Milan Vujin, former counsel for Dusko Tadic, found in contempt
of the Tribunal, and fined 15,000 Dutch guilders

Today, Monday 31 January 2000, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), consisting of Judges Shahabuddeen (Presiding), Cassese, Nieto-Navia, Mumba and Hunt, rendered its Judgement in the contempt of court proceedings instituted against Milan Vujin, the former counsel for Dusko Tadic.

The allegations of contempt arose from Mr. Vujin’s conduct between September 1997 and April 1998, when he was acting as lead counsel on behalf of Dusko Tadic in connection with the appeals against the Judgement of 7 May 1997 and the Sentencing Judgement of 14 July 1997. The Appeals Chamber also admitted evidence in relation to events which occurred outside that period in order "to demonstrate a particular course of conduct or to explain the events which took place within that period".

The evidence admitted by the Appeals Chamber relates to alleged conduct by Mr. Vujin, which may be grouped as follows:

- putting forward to the Appeals Chamber in support of an application for the admission of additional evidence on appeal ("the Rule 115 application"), a case which Mr. Vujin knew to be false

- in relation to the weight to be given to statements made by one Mla|o Radi}, a person indicted by the Tribunal; and

- in relation to the responsibility of another indicted person, Goran Borovnica, for the killing of two policemen of which Du{ko Tadi} was convicted;

- manipulating proposed witnesses:

- by seeking to avoid any identification by them of persons who may have been responsible for the crimes for which Du{ko Tadi} was convicted; and

- by persuading them to lie or withhold the truth when making statements in this connection; and

- bribing a witness to lie or withhold the truth.

THE JUDGEMENT

The Appeals Chamber found unanimously: "that the Respondent put forward to it in support of the Rule 115 application a case which was known to him to be false in relation to the weight to be given to statements made by Mlado Radic and in relation to the responsibility of Goran Borovnica for the killing of the two Muslim policemen, and

that the Respondent manipulated Witnesses A and B by seeking to avoid any identification by them in statements of their evidence of persons who may have been responsible for the crimes for which Tadic had been convicted,"

and was thus satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that this conduct constituted contempt of the Tribunal.

- Ordered him to pay a fine of 15,000 Dutch guilders to the Registry of the Tribunal within 21 days,

- Directed the Registrar "to consider striking" Mr. Vujin off the list of assigned counsel and "reporting" his conduct to the professional body to which he belongs,

- Ordered that various documents pertaining to the case be made public where possible.

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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
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