Date: 13.10.2010
Time: 12:00
Registry and Chambers:
Nerma Jelačić, Spokesperson for Registry and Chambers, made the following statement:
Good afternoon,
First, I would like to update you on where we stand on the Mladić notebooks issue:
In the trial of Jadranko Prlić and others, the Chamber partially granted the Prosecution request to tender into evidence extracts from Ratko Mladić’s notebooks and documents related to them. Of the 15 extracts which Prosecution sought to present, the Chamber has granted that eight be tendered into evidence. The Defence has until 20 October to appeal the decision.
In another related decision, rendered also on Thursday, the Chamber said it was not in a position to allow or forbid the Defence to discuss the contents of Mladić’s notebooks as some have already been tendered publicly in the trial of Radovan Karadžić. The Chamber however denied Jandranko Prlić’s request to lift the confidentiality and discuss or disclose the content of the three notebooks which have not been admitted in the Karadžić case and which remain confidential.
In the Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović case, the Chamber last Thursday granted the Prosecution’s request to add the notebooks to its 65ter list of exhibits. The Chamber found that the notebooks appear to contain contemporaneous notes of and references to a large number of military, political and private meetings with countless persons, allegedly including the Accused. Considering the notebook’s volume and so as to avoid imposing additional burden on the Defence, the Chamber has asked the Prosecution to notify the Defence on an ongoing basis of the portions of the notebooks on which it intends to rely. The Chamber will allow adequate time from the moment of notification for the Defence to prepare before these portions are to be used in court.
Onto a separate issue:
In Vojislav Šešelj’s second contempt of court case, in which he is accused of disclosing information on 11 protected witnesses in a book he authored, the President of the Tribunal on Thursday dismissed a motion filed confidentially by the Accused to remove Judge Orie from a three-Judge panel assigned to decide on an earlier motion in which he requested Judge Kwon and Judge Parker to be disqualified from his contempt of court case. According to President Robinson, Šešelj has failed to substantiate his claims that Judge Orie has any conflict of interest that will affect his impartiality as a judge deciding on the first motion to disqualify Judges Kwon and Parker.
Onto the courtroom schedule:
The Review Hearing in the case of Veselin Šljivančanin was held yesterday. The media will be informed as soon as a Scheduling Order has been filed announcing the date at which the Appeals Chamber will render its decision.
A Rule 54bis hearing will be held in the trial of Radovan Karadžić on Friday morning in Coutroom I. Its purpose will be to hear from representatives of the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina on their efforts to provide the Accused with a number of documents on the alleged clandestine supply of arms.
Hearings in the trial of Momčilo Perišić will resume on Friday morning in Courtroom III.
All other hearings in the case of Radovan Karadžić, Mićo Stanišić and Stojan Župljanin, Zdravko Tolimir as well as Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović continue this week and next as scheduled.
Office of the Prosecutor:
Frederick Swinnen, Special Adviser of the Prosecutor, made the following statement:
Prosecutor Serge Brammertz will be in Bosnia and Herzegovina (18 – 20 October) and in Croatia (on 20-21 October) next week.
This will be the first of his planned working visits to the region of the former Yugoslavia in preparation for the Office of the Prosecutor's report to the UN Security Council. The Prosecutor plans to travel to Belgrade early November. He will address the Security Council early December.
In Bosnia and Croatia, Prosecutor Brammertz will meet with representatives of the national government and judicial authorities to discuss ongoing cooperation with the Office of the Prosecutor and other matters related to the Tribunal’s Completion Strategy.
The Prosecutor will also meet with representatives of the victims in Sarajevo.
Questions:
No questions were asked.