Please
note that this is not a verbatim transcript of the Press Briefing. It is merely
a summary.
ICTY
Weekly Press Briefing
Date: 16 January 2002
Time: 11.00 a.m.
REGISTRY
AND CHAMBERS
Jim Landale, Spokesman for Registry and Chambers, made the following statement:
In
the Milosevic case, this morning we received the Prosecution’s brief for the
interlocutory appeal against the Trial Chamber’s Decision on joinder, which
was rendered on 13 December 2001. Copies will be available after the briefing.
For
those who did not see our press release last week, we have copies of the Decision
on the Prosecution’s Application for Leave to File an Interlocutory Appeal,
which was rendered on 9 January. The Bench of the Appeals Chamber granted the
Prosecution leave to appeal, but emphasised "that this grant of leave
to appeal should not be understood as preventing the Trial Chamber, if it so
decides, commencing the trial of the Kosovo Indictment on the date it has already
fixed."
On
11 January, Trial Chamber III issued an order confirming the oral rulings of
9 January, made during the Pre-Trial Conference. In the order, the Trial Chamber
confirmed that "the trial of the Kosovo Indictment will commence on
12 February 2002, the date already fixed by the Trial Chamber". The
order will be available after the briefing.
On
11 January, the Trial Chamber also issued an order concerning the amici curiae,
which confirmed its oral order of 9 January 2002 "that the amici curiae
should also assist the Trial Chamber by:
drawing the
attention of the Trial Chamber to any defences, for example, self-defence,
which may properly be open to the accused to raise on the evidence; and
making submissions
as to the relevance, if any, in this trial of the NATO air campaign in Kosovo".
In
addition, the "amici curiae may also assist the Trial Chamber, if appropriate,
by identifying witnesses whom the Trial Chamber may itself wish to call pursuant
to Rule 98 of the Rules and reiterates that the amici curiae should assist the
Trial Chamber in any other way they consider appropriate".
Copies
of both those documents will be available after this briefing.
As
some of you might have seen, and as has been reported in the media, an oral
ruling was handed down yesterday by Trial Chamber II, joining the Blagojevic,
Dragan Jokic and Obrenovic cases. We expect to receive the written reasons in
due course and will make them available to you when that happens.
In
the Krstic case, on 14 January, the Prosecution filed its Brief in reply to
the Defence Response to the Prosecution Appeal Brief. Copies will be available
after this.
I
can confirm that the Blaskic appellate brief was filed by the deadline on Monday
14, however it has been filed confidentially.
Finally
copies will be available of the appeal briefs on sentencing in the Celebici
case, for Esad Landzo, Zdvravko Mucic and Hazim Delic. Again copies will be
available after this briefing.
In
terms of court schedule, there is a pre-trial conference in the Brdanin and
Talic case this afternoon in courtroom I, starting at 2.15 p.m. The trial is
due to start next Monday, 21 January at 9 a.m. in courtroom I.
There will be a status conference in the Stakic case on Friday at 2 p.m., also
in courtroom I.
Jean-Jacques
Joris, Advisor to the Prosecutor, made no statement.
QUESTIONS:
No questions
were asked.
*****
|