ORDER FOR VIDEO-CONFERENCE LINK

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The Office of the Prosecutor:

Mr. Geoffrey Nice
Ms. Susan Somers
Mr. Patrick Lopez-Terres
Mr. Kenneth Scott

Counsel for the Accused:

Mr. Mitko Naumovski, Mr. Leo Andreis, Mr. David F. Geneson, Mr. Turner T. Smith, Jr., Mr. Robert A. Stein, Mr. Stephen M. Sayers and Ms. Ksenija Turkovic, for Dario Kordic
Mr. Bozidar Kovacic and Mr. Goran Mikulicic, for Mario Cerkez

THIS TRIAL CHAMBER 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 ("the International Tribunal"),

BEING SEISED OF a "Prosecutor’s Application for Video-Link Conference" filed by the Office of the Prosecutor ("the Prosecution") on 23 February 2000 ("the Application"), requesting that six witnesses identified in the Application be permitted to testify on behalf of the Prosecution by means of a video-conference link,

HAVING HEARD the oral arguments of the parties on 24 February 2000,

NOTING THAT, at the oral hearing, the Prosecution amended the Application to withdraw the request in respect of two of these witnesses, being the witnesses identified in sub-paragraphs (2) (e) and (f) of the Application,

NOTING THAT the Defence for Dario Kordic and the Defence for Mario Cerkez have confirmed that they have no objection to the use of video-conference link in respect of three of the remaining witnesses, being the witnesses identified in sub-paragraphs (2) (a), 2 (b) and 3 (a) of the Application,

CONSIDERING that the Trial Chamber prefers that witnesses be heard directly whenever possible,

CONSIDERING that the Prosecution 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 the Trial Chamber finds that it would be in the interests of justice to grant the Application in respect of all four of the witnesses,

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", issued by Trial Chamber II in Prosecutor v. Dusko Tadic, Case No. IT-94-1, 25 June 1996 (“the Tadic Decision”),

PURSUANT TO Rule 71 bis of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Tribunal

HEREBY GRANTS the Application, ORDERS that the four witnesses named in sub-paragraphs 2 (a), (b), (c) and 3 (a) of the Application may testify 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.

_____________________________
Richard May
Presiding

Dated this twenty-fourth day of February 2000
At The Hague
The Netherlands

[Seal of the Tribunal]