Case No. IT-02-61-S

IN THE TRIAL CHAMBER II

Before:
Judge Wolfgang Schomburg, Presiding
Judge Carmel A. Agius
Judge Florence Ndepele Mwachande Mumba

Registrar:
Mr. Hans Holthuis

Decision:
17 December 2003

PROSECUTOR

v.

MIROSLAV DERONJIC

_________________________________

ORDER ON ADMISSION INTO EVIDENCE OF TESTIMONY OF EXPERT WITNESS PROF. DR. ULRICH SIEBER

_________________________________

The Office of the Prosecutor:

Mr. Mark Harmon

Counsel for the Accused:

Mr. Slobodan Cvijetic
Mr. Slobodan Zecevic

TRIAL CHAMBER II of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 (hereinafter the "Tribunal"),

NOTING that pursuant to Rule 89 (C) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (hereinafter the "Rules") "a Chamber may admit any relevant evidence which it deems to have probative value",

NOTING that pursuant to Rule 89 (F) of the Rules "a Chamber may receive the evidence of a witness orally or, where the interests of justice allow, in written form",

NOTING that in the Dragan Nikolic case, pursuant to Rules 54, 94 bis, 98 second sentence and 100 of the Rules, this Trial Chamber invited Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber, Director of the Max Planck Institute for foreign and international criminal law in Freiburg, Germany, to:¹

(1) Submit an expert report, focussing on

(a) the range of sentences for crimes applicable in (i) the states on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, (ii) member states of the Council of Europe and (iii) other major legal systems,

(b) the sentencing practice in relation to these crimes developed by (i) state courts in the states on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, (ii) international or mixed courts and (iii) the sentencing practice developed by other states mentioned above.

(2) To attend the sentencing hearing on 5 November 2003 and to be available for examination by the Judges and cross-examination by any of the parties if they wish so,

CONSIDERING that Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber subsequently submitted an expert report, including 23 country reports and five English summaries of country reports written in German (hereinafter the "Expert Report"),² and gave testimony on the Export Report during the Sentencing Hearing in the Dragan Nikolić case on 4 November 2003 (hereinafter the "Transcript"),

CONSIDERING that (i) the Expert Report relates to crimes that include those to which the accused Miroslav Deronjić (hereinafter the "Accused") has pleaded guilty, that (ii), consequently, it can assist the Trial Chamber in its determination of an appropriate sentence, and that (iii) it is in the interests of justice to allow its admission into evidence in written form, as it saves the Tribunal’s resources,

CONSIDERING that pursuant to Rule 92 bis of the Rules "a Chamber may admit a transcript of evidence given by a witness in proceedings before the Tribunal which goes to proof of a matter other than the acts and conduct of the accused",

CONSIDERING that the Trial Chamber has the power pursuant to Rule 98, second sentence, of the Rules to "propriu motu summon witnesses and order their attendance",

CONSIDERING that both Parties enjoy the right to be heard before any decisions are taken proprio motu by the Tribunal,

PURSUANT TO Rules 89 (C), 89 (F), 92 bis (D), 94 bis, and 98, second sentence, of the Rules,

HEREBY

INVITES each Party to file no later than 9 January 2004 a notice indicating whether or not:

(1) it accepts the Expert Report;

(2) it wishes to cross-examine Prof Dr. Ulrich Sieber;

(3) it challenges the qualifications of Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber as an expert or the relevance of all or parts of the Expert Report and, if so, which parts;

(4) it objects to the admission into evidence of the Transcript;

ANNOUNCES

that if there are no objections by any of the Parties, the Expert Report and the Transcript will proprio motu be admitted into evidence without calling Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber to testify in person.

Done in English and French, the English version being authoritative.

Dated this seventeenth day of December 2003,
At The Hague
The Netherlands

_______________
Judge Wolfgang Schomburg,
Presiding

[Seal of the Tribunal]