IN THE TRIAL CHAMBER
Before: Judge Antonio Cassese, Presiding
Judge Richard May
Judge Florence Ndepele Mwachande Mumba
Registrar: Mrs. Dorothee de Sampayo Garrido-Nijgh
Decision of: 29 April 1998
PROSECUTOR
v.
MILE MRKSIC
MIROSLAV RADIC
VESELIN SLJIVANCANIN
SLAVKO DOKMANOVIC
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DECISION ON DEFENCE MOTIONS FOR VIDEO-CONFERENCE LINK
______________________________________
The Office of the Prosecutor:
Mr. Grant Niemann
Mr. Stefan Wäspi
Mr. Clint Williamson
Ms. Ann Sutherland
Counsel for the Accused:
Mr. Toma Fila and Mr. Vladimir Petrovic, for Slavko Dokmanovic
THE TRIAL CHAMBER
NOTING the Defence Motion To Enable To Call Witnesses By Means Of Safe Conduct And Video Conference Link, the Defence Motion For Video Link Conference and the Additional Defence Motion For Video Link Conference, filed on 6 January, 31 March and 15 April 1998 respectively (together referred to as "the Motions"), requesting that a total of twelve witnesses who will testify on behalf of the Defence be permitted to do so by means of a video-conference link,
NOTING THAT the Office of the Prosecutor ("Prosecution") has no objection to the use of video-conference link in respect of four of these witnesses, as indicated in its Response To The Defence Motion For Video Link Conference filed on 9 April 1998, but that it has raised a general objection before the Trial Chamber, requesting that evidence only be given via video-conference link in circumstances where it is not possible for the evidence to be given in any other way,
CONSIDERING that the Trial Chamber prefers that witnesses be heard directly whenever possible,
CONSIDERING that the Defence has established that the testimony of these witnesses is sufficiently important as to make it unfair to proceed without it and that the witnesses are unable or unwilling for good reason to come to the International Tribunal,
CONSIDERING that guidelines for the giving of evidence by video-conference link have been laid down in the Decision on the Defence Motions to Summons and Protect Defence Witnesses, and on the Giving of Evidence by Video-Link, dated 25 June 1996, issued by Trial Chamber II in Prosecutor v. Dusko Tadic ("the Tadic Decision"),
PURSUANT TO Rules 75 and 90 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Tribunal
HEREBY GRANTS the Motions, ORDERS that the witnesses named in the Motions may give testimony through video-conference link provided that the necessary equipment can be made available to the International Tribunal and DIRECTS the Registrar to take all reasonable steps in the circumstances of the present case to ensure that the guidelines established in the Tadic Decision are followed.
Done in English and French, the English text being authoritative.
___________________
Antonio Cassese
Presiding Judge
Dated this twenty-ninth day of April 1998
At The Hague
The Netherlands
[Seal of the Tribunal]