Case No. IT-04-84-PT

Prosecutor v. Lahi Brahimaj

DECISION

THE DEPUTY REGISTRAR,

NOTING the Statute of the Tribunal as adopted by the Security Council under Resolution 827 (1993), and in particular Article 21 thereof;

NOTING the Rules of Procedure and Evidence as adopted by the Tribunal on 11 February 1994, as subsequently amended ("Rules"), and in particular Rule 45 thereof;

NOTING the Directive on Assignment of Defence Counsel as adopted by the Tribunal on 28 July 1994, as subsequently amended ("Directive"), and in particular Articles 11(B) and 14(A) thereof;

NOTING the Code of Professional Conduct for Counsel Appearing Before the International Tribunal (IT/125 REV.1);

CONSIDERING that Mr Lahi Brahimaj ("Accused") was transferred to the seat of the Tribunal on 9 March 2005 and that his initial appearance was held on 14 March 2005;

CONSIDERING that on 11 March 2005 and pursuant to Rule 45(C) of the Rules, the Registrar assigned Mr Richard Harvey, Barrister from the United Kingdom, as duty counsel to the Accused for the purposes of his initial appearance and for other such matters as necessary until replacement counsel is assigned;

CONSIDERING that the Accused has since applied for Tribunal legal aid pursuant to Article 8 of the Directive on the basis that he does not have means to remunerate counsel and has requested that the Registry assign Mr Harvey as his permanent counsel;

CONSIDERING that the Registry has not yet determined whether or to what extent the Accused is able to remunerate counsel;

CONSIDERING that in accordance with Article 11(B) of the Directive, the Registrar may assign counsel to an accused for a period of 120 days to ensure that an accused’s right to counsel is not affected while the Registry examines his ability to remunerate counsel;

CONSIDERING that in this case it is necessary to assign counsel to the Accused pursuant to Article 11(B) to ensure that his right to counsel is not affected while the Registry assesses his ability to remunerate counsel;

NOTING that Mr Harvey is currently representing Mr Haradin Bala in The Prosecutor v Limaj et al.;

CONSIDERING that the Registry has ascertained that no conflict of interest exists between Mr Harvey’s representation of Mr Bala and his representation of the Accused;

CONSIDERING that the Registry has determined that Mr Harvey’s representation of both Mr Bala and the Accused will not prejudice the defence of either Mr Bala or the Accused;

CONSIDERING that both Mr Bala and the Accused have consented in writing to Mr Harvey representing them both after receiving independent legal advice on this issue from the Registry pursuant to Article 16(E)(i) of the Directive;

HEREBY DECIDES to assign Mr Harvey as counsel to the Accused for a period of 120 days pursuant to Article 11(B) of the Directive, effective as of the date of this decision.

 

John Hocking
Deputy Registrar

Dated this eighteenth day of April 2005
At The Hague,
The Netherlands.