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Please
note that this is not a verbatim transcript of the Press Briefing.
It is merely a summary.
ICTY Weekly Press Briefing
Date: 24.11.2004
Time: 12.15 p.m.
Registry and Chambers:
Jim Landale, Spokesman for Registry and Chambers,
made the following statement:
Good afternoon,
The President of the ICTY, Judge Theodor Meron, addressed the United
Nations Security Council yesterday in New York. Most of you should
have received our press release containing the text of the President’s
speech yesterday evening. Additional copies of the speech will be
available after this.
I would also draw your attention to the press release that you
should all have received on the election by the General Assembly
of the ICTY’s 14 permanent Judges that we sent out a few days ago.
I would just like to underline the fact that the four-year term
of office for the Judges commences on 17 November 2005 and expires
in 2009. For the record, the following Judges were elected:
Carmel A. Agius (Malta)
Jean-Claude Antonetti (France)
Iain Bonomy (United Kingdom)
O-gon Kwon (Republic of Korea)
Liu Daqun (China)
Theodor Meron (United States of America)
Bakone Melema Moloto (South Africa)
Alphonsus Martinus Maria Orie (Netherlands)
Kevin Horace Parker (Australia)
Fausto Pocar (Italy)
Patrick Lipton Robinson (Jamaica)
Wolfgang Schomburg (Germany)
Mohamed Shahabuddeen (Guyana)
Christine Van Den Wyngaert (Belgium)
On behalf of the Tribunal’s Outreach Programme:
On Saturday, 20 November 2004, The Helsinki Committee for Human
Rights in Republika Srpska and the Tribunal’s Outreach Programme
held a conference in Konjic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, entitled "ICTY
Cases in Relation to War Crimes Committed in Konjic".
The event enabled the Tribunal to provide key audiences – victims’
associations, municipal authorities, judicial officials and law
enforcement agencies, as well as local politicians and civil society
representatives – with a detailed and comprehensive picture of the
Tribunal’s activities in relation to allegations of serious violations
of international humanitarian law in Konjic during the 1992-1995
armed conflict.
The focus of the conference was on the Celebici case, which concerned
allegations of crimes committed in 1992 against Bosnian Serb detainees
in a prison camp located in the Konjic municipality. Senior ICTY
officials who were involved in that case described the investigations
into the crimes in question, the evidence presented before the court,
and the facts that were established during the trial.
Reactions of the conference audience highlighted the need to bring
to justice perpetrators of all crimes, regardless of the nationality
of the victims or the perpetrators. By presenting its work to the
local community, the Tribunal hopes to encourage the domestic authorities
to act upon information regarding violations of international humanitarian
law received from victims and witnesses and to bring additional
charges where evidence exists regarding crimes committed in the
Konjic region.
The conference was the third in a series entitled "Bridging
the Gap Between the ICTY and Communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina"
in which the Tribunal deals directly with the immediate communities
most affected by the crimes at the heart of ICTY cases.
This series of events is generously supported by the "Neighbourhood
Programme" of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This week, Outreach is hosting a group of law students from Osijek,
Croatia, who are participating in a study visit of the Tribunal.
They are attending court proceedings and presentations given by
various ICTY officials who are explaining the work of the Tribunal
to the group.
Next week is another busy week, with the Milosevic, Limaj et al.,
Oric, Hadzihasanovic and Kubura, and Krajisnik trials will continue
in all three of our courtrooms.
In addition, starting on Wednesday 1 December at 3 p.m. in Courtroom
III and continuing on Thursday afternoon and all day Friday, there
will be a motion hearing following a Rule 54 bis application from
Dragoljub Ojdanic.
In The Prosecutor v. Dario Kordic and Mario Cerkez, the
Appeals Chamber will render its judgement on Appeal on 17 December
2004 at 2.15 p.m. in Courtroom I.
A reminder that the oral arguments on appeal in The Prosecutor
v. Dragan Nikolic, will be held on 29 November 2004, as I announced
last week.
There will be status conferences in The Prosecutor v. Prlic
et al. this afternoon at 3 p.m. in Courtroom III; in The
Prosecutor v. Pasko Ljubicic on 25 November at 3 p.m. in Courtroom
I; in The Prosecutor v. Momir Nikolic on 26 November at 2.30
p.m. in Courtroom I; and in The Prosecutor v. Miroslav Deronjic
on 30 November at 3 p.m. in Courtroom II.
Office of the Prosecutor:
No representative was present from the Office of the Prosecutor.
Questions:
Asked if the ICTY expected any action to be taken after President
Meron’s addresses to both the General Assembly and the Security
Council, especially pertaining to cooperation, Landale answered
that the Tribunal did expect action to be taken. The Tribunal expected
states to act in line with their binding legal obligations to cooperate
fully with the ICTY, and not only after reports to the General Assembly
and the Security Council.
Landale stated that first and foremost, as highlighted in the speeches,
cooperation meant the apprehension and transfer of people indicted
by the Tribunal, as well as improvement and continuation of cooperation
in all other spheres. That was something that should be happening
at all times not just in the run-up to an address being given, or
in its aftermath, he added.
Asked what would happen if the Completion Strategy was successful
with the trials finishing up in 2008, would the Trial Chamber Judges
be salaried from January to November 2009, Landale said that would
get back to the journalist.
Asked that, since Momcilo Mandic was on a black list and his
assets were frozen by the international community, how he was able
to come to The Hague to testify in the Krajisnik trial, Landale
said that he had sought that information but did not yet have a
clear answer. He would get back to the journalist when and if he
received information that he could make public.
Documents:
The Prosecutor v Fatmir Limaj, Haradin Bala and Isak Musliu
22 November 2004 – Decision on the Prosecution’s Motion for Protective
Measures at Trial. (7pgs)
The Prosecutor v Enver Hadzihasanovic and Amir Kubura
19 November 2004 – Joint Defence Reply to Prosecution Response
to Joint Defence Interlocutory Appeal of Trial Chamber Decision
on Enver Hadzihasanovic and Amir Kubura’s Rule 98bis Motions
for Acquittal. (10pgs)
The Prosecutor v. Rahim Ademi and Mirko Norac
18 November 2004 – Response to Prosecutor’s Further Submission
in Support of the Motion of the Prosecution Under Rule 11bis.
(3pgs)
The Prosecutor v. Vojislav Seselj
8 November 2004 – Request by the Accused for Trial Chamber II to
Seek Through the Security Council or the General Assembly an Advisory
Opinion from the International Court of Justice on the Legality
of the Establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia on the Basis of UN Security Council Resolutions
no. 827 and 888. (21pgs)
8 November 2004 – Request by the Accused to the Bureau to Disqualify
the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia, Theodor Meron, from the Trial and Decision-Making Process
in the Case of the Prosecutor Vs. Prof. Vojislav Seselj. (20pgs)
8 November 2004 – Motion by the Accused for Disqualification of
the Appeals Chamber – Presiding Judge Theodor Meron, Judge Fausto
Pocar, Judge Mohamed Shahabuddeen, Judge Mehmet Guney, Judge Ines
Monica Weinberg de Roca. (18pgs)
17 November 2004 – Prosecution’s Response to the Accused’s Request
for an Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice. (2pgs)
18 November 2004 – Decision. (2pgs)
The Prosecutor v. Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic
18 November 2004 – Report to the Trial Chamber Pursuant to "Decision
on Confidential Prosecution Motions for Protective Measures"
of 26 October 2004 and Application to Amend Witness List. (2pgs)
The Prosecutor v. Naser Oric
17 November 2004 – First Supplement to Defence Rule 68 Motion.
(20pgs)
18 November 2004 – Urgent Motion Regarding Late Disclosure of Evidence
and to Recall a Witness. (7pgs)
*****
See
also the latest ADC-ICTY press briefing.
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