Case No. IT-00-39-T

Prosecutor v. Momcilo Krajisnik

DECISION

THE DEPUTY REGISTRAR,

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

CONSIDERING the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (hereinafter "the Rules") as adopted by the Tribunal on 11 February 1994, as subsequently amended, and in particular Rules 44 and 45 thereof;

CONSIDERING the Directive on Assignment of Defence Counsel (hereinafter "the Directive"), as adopted by the Tribunal on 28 July 1994, as subsequently amended, and in particular, Articles 8, 10, 11(A) (ii) and 18 thereof;

CONSIDERING that on 20 April 2000, Mr. Momcilo Krajisnik (hereinafter "the Accused") submitted a Declaration of Means to the Registry, claiming legal aid on the basis that he did not have sufficient means to remunerate counsel;

CONSIDERING that on 20 October 2002, the Accused submitted a new Declaration of Means in which he maintained that he lacked the means to remunerate counsel;

CONSIDERING that, although at the time the Registrar was not satisfied that the Accused lacked means to remunerate counsel, on 24 April 2000 the Registrar nevertheless assigned counsel to the Accused in the interest of justice and in order to protect the rights of the Accused pending verification of his financial status;

CONSIDERING that, in order to verify the financial status of the Accused, the Registrar conducted an inquiry into the Accused’s means pursuant to Article 10(A) of the Directive;

CONSIDERING that the Registry found that the Accused failed to disclose some of his assets or disclosed them incompletely in his Declarations of Means, and that the assessment of those assets showed that the Accused had means to remunerate counsel partially;

CONSIDERING that on 3 April 2003, the Registry provided the Accused with its final report containing its findings on the Accused’s financial status and invited him to submit any comments or further documentation;

CONSIDERING that on 18 April 2003, the Accused provided the Registry with further documents and comments;

CONSIDERING that on 12 June 2003, the Registrar issued a "Decision Pursuant to Article 18(A)(ii) of the Directive on the Assignment of Defence Counsel" (hereinafter "the Registrar’s Decision"), in which he declared the Accused able to contribute $12,970 US per month to the cost of his defence over the 48-month period his trial was then expected to last;

CONSIDERING that on 15 July 2003 the Accused filed an English translation of an "Appeal Against the Registrar’s Decision Pursuant to Article 18(II) of the Directive on the Assignment of Counsel", in which he claimed that he did not have any funds to expend on his defence and requested the Trial Chamber to declare him fully indigent;

CONSIDERING that on 19 September 2003 the Registrar filed a "Response of the Registry to Accused’s Appeal Against the Registrar’s Decision Pursuant to Article 18(II) of the Directive on the Assignment of Counsel" (hereinafter "the Registrar’s Response"), in which the Registrar lowered the value of some assets and the monthly household’s income based on documentation which had become available after the Registrar’s Decision was issued, which resulted in lowering the Accused contribution to the cost of his defence to $10,912 US per month over a 48-month period;

CONSIDERING that on 4 November 2003, the Accused filed a "Reply to the Registry’s Objection" commenting on the Registrar’s response;

CONSIDERING further that on 19 November 2003, the Accused and the Registrar made oral submissions to the Trial Chamber on this matter and the Accused filed additional documentation and an explanatory memorandum to the Trial Chamber;

CONSIDERING that on 20 January 2004, the Trial Chamber issued a "Decision on the Defence’s Motion for an Order Setting Aside the Registrar’s Decision Declaring Momcilo Krajisnik Partially Indigent for Legal Aid Purposes" (hereinafter "the Trial Chamber’s Decision"), quashing the Registrar’s Decision;

CONSIDERING that in its decision, the Trial Chamber found certain aspects of the Registrar’s Decision to be unreasonable and directed the Registrar to recalculate the Accused’s contribution to the costs of his defence in light of the Trial Chamber’s findings;

NOTING that in paragraph 53 of the Trial Chamber’s Decision, the Trial Chamber suggested that "the Registrar should consider enlarging the average monthly expenditure allowance to take account of the cost of SfamilyC visits Sto the Accused in The HagueC according to criteria which the Registrar considers reasonable";

CONSIDERING that the Registry, after a careful analysis of this suggestion, takes the view that such an enlargement of the average expenditure component of the formula used by the Registry in the assessment of the financial status of an accused, would, in fact, result in an unequal treatment between the fully indigent accused who receive no assistance from the Tribunal for the purposes of family visits and those with more substantial means who would receive additional legal aid funds to compensate for the expense of family visits were the Registry to adopt the Chamber’s suggestion;

CONSIDERING that, although the Registry has excluded some assets from the Accused’s asset base and has lowered the value of others as directed by the Trial Chamber, the Accused is nevertheless able to remunerate counsel partially, as demonstrated in the Confidential Appendix to the present Decision (hereinafter "the Appendix");

CONSIDERING that at a pre-trial conference held on 3 February 2004, the Trial Chamber discussed the estimate duration of the trial, suggesting a duration closer to two years rather than the initially estimated 48 months;

CONSIDERING therefore that the actual duration of the trial is not likely to exceed 30 months;

CONSIDERING the Trial Chamber’s Decision and the resulting change to the Accused’s asset base, the Registrar has determined that the Accused’s disposable monthly income is $23,972 US, as set out in the Appendix,;

CONSIDERING the right of the Accused to an effective defence before the International Tribunal as per Article 21 of the Statute;

DECIDES in light of the foregoing and in accordance with article 11(A)(ii) of the Directive, that the Accused shall contribute $9,589 US per month to the cost of his defence for a period of 30 months as of the date of commencement of trial, and that this amount shall be deducted from the legal aid resources provided by the Registry during the trial stage under the current payment system of the Tribunal, as explained in the Appendix;

DECIDES further, that with the exception of the contribution of the Accused, the expenses referred to in Article 22(B) and 27 of the Directive shall be borne by the Tribunal.

__________
David Tolbert
Deputy Registrar

Dated this third day of February 2004
At The Hague
The Netherlands