THE DEPUTY REGISTRAR,

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

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

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 8, 10, 11(A) and 18;

NOTING the assignment of Mr Rodney Dixon on 5 November 2004 as duty counsel to Mr Beqa Beqaj ("Accused") in accordance with Article 16(F) of the Directive;

NOTING that on 10 November 2004, the Accused requested the assignment of Mr Tjarda Eduard van der Spoel, attorney at law from Rotterdam, as his lead counsel;

CONSIDERING that the Accused submitted his declaration of means on 16 November 2004, claiming legal aid on the basis that he did not have sufficient means to remunerate counsel;

CONSIDERING that on 18 November 2004, the Registry withdrew the assignment of Mr Dixon as duty counsel to the Accused and temporarily assigned Mr van der Spoel as lead counsel for a period of 120 days while the Registry inquired into the means of the Accused to determine his eligibility to legal aid pursuant to Article 7(B) and (C), and Article 10 of the Directive;

CONSIDERING the information provided by the Accused in his declaration of means and the evidence gathered by the Registry during an inquiry into the Accused’s means pursuant to Article 10(A) of the Directive;

NOTING that Article 8(B) and (C) of the Directive respectively provide:

NOTING the supporting documentation filed confidentially and ex parte;

NOTING that the eligibility of an accused for legal aid is determined according to the "Registry Policy for Determining the Extent to which a Suspect or an Accused is able to Remunerate Counsel" ("Registry Policy");

CONSIDERING that according to the Registry Policy, assets acquired by the Accused and his spouse during their marital union are deemed marital property under the marital property regime of Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro, where the Accused and his spouse reside, owned jointly by the Accused and his spouse, and may be considered for the purpose of calculating the Accused’s disposable means, unless evidence is proffered that the marital property regime does not apply;

CONSIDERING that the Accused has a spouse, five children, two in-laws and six grandchildren who reside in the principal family home ("persons with whom the Accused habitually resides") and with whom he has a relationship of financial co-dependence;

NOTING that according to the Registry Policy, the Registry deducts from an accused’s disposable means the estimated living expenses of his family and dependents during the estimated period in which the Accused will require representation before the International Tribunal, the amount remaining being the contribution to be made by the Accused to his defence;

CONSIDERING that the Accused owns a house in Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro ("principal family home");

CONSIDERING that according to the Registry Policy, the Registry includes in an accused’s disposable means the equity in the principal family home to the extent that the principal family home exceeds the reasonable needs of the accused, his spouse and the persons with whom he habitually resides;

CONSIDERING that the Accused’s principal family home does not exceed the reasonable needs of the Accused, his spouse and the persons with whom he habitually resides, and therefore is not included in the Accused’s disposable means;

NOTING that according to the Registry Policy, the Registry excludes from an accused’s disposable means the equity in furnishings in the principal family home unless those furnishings exceed the reasonable needs of the accused, his spouse and the persons with whom he habitually resides;

NOTING the furnishings in the Accused’s principal family home do not exceed the reasonable needs of the Accused, his spouse and the persons with whom he habitually resides and are therefore not included in the Accused’s disposable means;

CONSIDERING that the Accused is currently unemployed and receives no income or unemployment benefits from any source;

CONSIDERING that the Accused’s spouse and the persons with whom the Accused habitually resides are currently unemployed, and that two of the persons with whom the Accused habitually resides receive social benefits which are excluded from the disposable means used to calculate the Accused’s eligibility to legal aid under Article 8(B) of the Directive;

CONSIDERING that in determining the estimated living expenses of the Accused, his spouse, and the persons with whom he habitually resides, the Registry applies the formula in Section 10 of the Registry Policy, which reads:

AE represents the average monthly expenditure for a four-person household, obtained from official documentation of the government of Serbia and Montenegro. The index includes accommodation and living costs;

EE represents additional monthly living expenses, if any, of the Accused, his spouse, his dependents and the persons with whom he habitually resides. These additional living expenses are expenses that are particular to the Accused, his spouse, and the persons with whom he habitually resides and are accordingly not foreseen in the AE index. Additional living expenses will include, but will not be limited to, tuition fees and the costs of extraordinary medical care;

M represents the number of people who habitually reside in the principal family home, including the Accused, the Accused’s spouse and the persons with whom he habitually resides;

D represents the Accused’s dependents who do not habitually reside in the principal family home;

T represents the period from when the Registry issues its decision on the extent to which an accused is able to remunerate counsel until the conclusion of the estimated period in which he will require representation before the International Tribunal;

ELE represents the estimated living expenses for the Accused, his spouse and the persons with whom he habitually resides, during the period from when the Registry issues its decision on the extent to which an accused is able to remunerate counsel until the conclusion of the estimated period in which he will require representation before the International Tribunal;

CONSIDERING that in determining the extent to which an accused is able to remunerate counsel, the Registry applies the formula in Section 11 of the Registry Policy, which reads:

Where:

CONSIDERING that in applying the formula DM – ELE = C, the Accused’s contribution is US $0 and as such he is unable to remunerate counsel;

DECIDES that the expenses referred to in Articles 22, 26 and 27 of the Directive shall be borne by the Tribunal;

CONSIDERING that according to the information received by the Registry, the Accused is

fully indigent and does not possess the means to pay the costs of his defence;

CONSIDERING further the right of the Accused to an effective defence before the International Tribunal;

DECIDES in light of the foregoing, without prejudice to Article 18 of the Directive and pursuant to Article 11(A)(i) of the Directive, to assign permanently Mr. Tjarda Eduard van der Spoel as lead counsel to the Accused, as of the date of this Decison.

John Hocking
Deputy Registrar

Dated this 2nd day of February 2005
At The Hague,
The Netherlands.