Trial Chamber I of the Tribunal today ordered that relevant confidential materials in the case against Slobodan Milosevic be made available to Dutch authorities and a special Tribunal inquiry team.

Following Slobodan Milosevic's death in the UN Detention Unit on Saturday 11 March 2006, Dutch authorities began an investigation under Dutch law that is independent of the Tribunal. In addition, under his authority under the Tribunal's Statute and Rules, Judge Fausto Pocar ordered an internal inquiry. He appointed Tribunal Vice-President Judge Kevin Parker to head it.

In today's order, Trial Chamber I stated that certain materials in the case were treated as confidential often because personal information about Slobodan Milosevic is contained in them. It further stated that the Tribunal generally protects privacy interests of the accused. However, the Trial Chamber stated that once an accused is deceased and there is a need for a full inquiry, or an obligation to facilitate a Dutch inquest, then the interest of these investigations in unimpeded access to information outweighs any residual privacy interests.

The Trial Chamber further ordered that these materials remain confidential, unless and to the extent the interests of the Dutch authorities' inquest and the Tribunal's inquiry dictate otherwise.

The Tribunal indicted Slobodan Milosevic with numerous crimes committed in Kosovo, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1991 to 1999. He stood trial for these crimes from February 2002 until Tuesday 14 March 2006 when Trial Chamber III formally closed the proceedings against him.