1 Monday, 17 April 2000

2 [Status Conference]

3 [Open session]

4 [The accused entered court]

5 --- Upon commencing at 10.00 a.m.

6 THE REGISTRAR: [Interpretation] Case number

7 IT-97-25-PT, the Prosecutor versus Milorad Kronjelac.

8 JUDGE HUNT: This is a Status Conference

9 which is being held simply to comply with the Rules.

10 Appearances.

11 MR. RYNEVELD: If it please the Court. For

12 the Prosecution, Dirk Ryneveld, and with me today are

13 Daryl Mundis and our case manager, George Huber. We're

14 prepared to proceed.

15 JUDGE HUNT: Thank you. For the accused.

16 MR. VASIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, on

17 behalf of the Defence, legal counsel Miroslav Vasic.

18 JUDGE HUNT: Mr. Vasic, you are filling in

19 for Mr. Bakrac, are you?

20 MR. VASIC: [Interpretation] Yes, Your

21 Honour.

22 JUDGE HUNT: Thank you very much. Well, now,

23 the amended indictment seems to have got past

24 without a further hitch. Where does the Prosecution

25 stand, Mr. Ryneveld?

1 MR. RYNEVELD: Thank you, Your Honour. Our

2 view was that -- my initial reading of Rule 72 was such

3 that the material, if my friend was going to make any

4 further preliminary motions, it would have been within

5 30 days after our amended indictment was accepted for

6 filing by the Registry on the 3rd of March. We took

7 the view that since those 30 days had passed and we had

8 not received any notice in writing, that the matter was

9 a foregone conclusion.

10 Nevertheless, at a very brief meeting in my

11 office this morning with the Defence, I understand that

12 my friend may actually have an application to make

13 orally before the Court. So that's what I'm advising

14 the Court at this point.

15 JUDGE HUNT: Thank you. Let's see what it's

16 all about. Mr. Vasic, what is the situation?

17 MR. VASIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, the

18 position of the Defence differs from the position of

19 the Prosecution. Namely, it is our view that in

20 accordance with Article 21 of the Statute and Rule

21 50(C), 52 -- no, I'm sorry, 53(B) and 47(G), the

22 deadline for a preliminary motion begins on the day he

23 received the amended indictment in the language he

24 knows, and that was the 30th of March, 2000.

25 Therefore, it is the Defence intention to

1 submit a preliminary motion regarding the form of the

2 indictment, though we realise that the amended

3 indictment has now been further specified, and our

4 preliminary motion would consist of only two or three

5 points.

6 JUDGE HUNT: I think there is a problem with

7 the way in which you've interpreted the Statute and the

8 Rules, but I know that in previous cases the Trial

9 Chambers have usually taken the view that you should

10 have 30 days from the day you receive the amended

11 indictment in a language which the accused

12 understands. You say that was the 30th of March?

13 MR. VASIC: [Interpretation] The 30th of

14 March, 2000. That is when the Defence received the

15 amended indictment in a language the accused

16 understands, and the accused has just told me that he

17 received that indictment around the 3rd or 4th of

18 April.

19 JUDGE HUNT: Yes. But you received it on the

20 30th of March?

21 MR. VASIC: [Interpretation] Yes, Your Honour,

22 in a language the accused understands.

23 JUDGE HUNT: I think the time will run from

24 then.

25 You say that you only have a few matters to

1 raise this time. They better be new ones, if I may put

2 it as baldly as I can, because on the previous occasion

3 Mr. Bakrac tried to rerun a few issues that had already

4 been determined against him.

5 If you have now decided that there are just

6 these few points to be raised, when can you get your

7 motion on?

8 MR. VASIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour,

9 Mr. Bakrac is currently in Belgrade. He's finalising

10 the motion, and we hope that the motion will reach the

11 Tribunal in the course of this week, not later than the

12 15th [as interpreted].

13 JUDGE HUNT: Well, you'll need a date, you

14 see, and I'm only trying to work out when a suitable

15 period might be, subject to what the Prosecution might

16 say. So you think it will be here within the week?

17 MR. VASIC: [Interpretation] Yes, by the end

18 of the week at the latest.

19 THE INTERPRETER: The interpreter

20 apologises. I made a mistake with the date.

21 JUDGE HUNT: Well, Mr. Ryneveld, that has

22 indeed been the previous experience. I'm not sure

23 about the translation, but it seems only fair that they

24 should be able to read it. If I give the 30-day

25 extension as from the 30th of March, would that be any

1 problem from the Prosecution's point of view?

2 MR. RYNEVELD: No, it ought not to. Thank

3 you, Your Honour.

4 JUDGE HUNT: Does that mean that nothing has

5 been done yet about interviewing the accused?

6 MR. RYNEVELD: Apart from further discussions

7 indicating as to when that might take place, we have

8 had those further discussions, including discussions

9 about stipulations, however everything seems to depend

10 on the finalisation of the form of the final amended

11 indictment. So to answer your question directly, apart

12 from talking that we ought to do this some day, it is

13 depending on the finalisation of the amended

14 indictment, so yes.

15 JUDGE HUNT: I'm not sure why, if I might say

16 so. Anyway --

17 MR. RYNEVELD: Well, I can only say that

18 we're anxious to do it now. However --

19 JUDGE HUNT: Well, you can only do it by

20 consent, so that will be the end of that.

21 Very well. Then I'll make an order extending

22 the time within which a preliminary motion may be filed

23 as to the form of the amended indictment until the 30th

24 of April.

25 Now, Mr. Vasic, I think at that stage you

1 better start talking a little bit more closely with the

2 Prosecution. I can understand your desire or your

3 client's desire to know precisely the case he has to

4 meet, but there are limits to this, and if, as I

5 suspect, these points must be very small ones indeed,

6 the time has come for the case to start moving

7 forward. You are the next case in the list to be

8 heard, and whilst I have no promises to make, it may be

9 that you will be on in a reasonably foreseeable future,

10 so that there is a lot of work to be done in the

11 meantime.

12 Would you convey those comments to Mr. Bakrac

13 so that the matter will proceed as soon as possible?

14 MR. VASIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I

15 should like to thank you for your comments. In our

16 conversations with the Prosecution, we have roughly

17 fixed certain dates, whether it may be May or June, but

18 most probably June, when we could have the accused

19 interviewed, and we could also discuss stipulations, so

20 that the Defence will join in the efforts to speed up

21 things as much as possible. Thank you very much.

22 JUDGE HUNT: That sounds very much more

23 promising, and I'm grateful to you for that.

24 Are there any other matters, Mr. Ryneveld, in

25 relation to the preparation that you want to raise?

1 MR. RYNEVELD: No. Thank you, Your Honour.

2 I believe those are all the matters.

3 JUDGE HUNT: All right. Mr. Vasic, are there

4 any other matters within the terms of the Rule 65 bis,

5 the Status Conference Rule, that you want to raise on

6 behalf of your client?

7 MR. VASIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour,

8 thank you very much, but I have no other points to

9 raise.

10 JUDGE HUNT: All right then. We'll leave the

11 Status Conference there. Hopefully at the next Status

12 Conference we'll be able to get forward more than we

13 have so far.

14 I will adjourn.

15 --- Whereupon the Status Conference

16 adjourned at 10.10 a.m.

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