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1 Tuesday, 5 December 2006
2 [Status Conference]
3 [The appellant Bala entered court]
4 --- Upon commencing at 5.30 p.m.
5 JUDGE MERON: Please be seated. Registrar, would you please call
6 the case.
7 THE REGISTRAR: Good afternoon, Your Honour. This is case number
8 IT-03-66-A, the Prosecutor versus Fatmir Limaj, Haradin Bala, and Isak
9 Musliu.
10 JUDGE MERON: Thank you. We would now like the appearances of the
11 parties.
12 The Prosecution.
13 MS. CAREY: Thank you, Your Honour. Kristina Carey appearing for
14 the Prosecution. I'm joined today by our case manager, Ms. Lourdes
15 Galicia.
16 JUDGE MERON: Thank you.
17 Counsel for Mr. Limaj.
18 MR. KHAN: If it please Your Honour, Karim Khan for the
19 respondent, Fatmir Limaj.
20 JUDGE MERON: Counsel for Mr. Bala.
21 MR. GUY-SMITH: Good evening, Your Honour. Gregor Guy-Smith
22 appearing on behalf of Mr. Bala, who is present in custody, and I'm
23 assisted by Caroline Buisman, my legal assistant.
24 JUDGE MERON: Thank you, Mr. Guy-Smith.
25 Counsel for Mr. Musliu.
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1 MR. POWLES: May it please Your Honour, Steven Powles for the
2 respondent Isak Musliu.
3 JUDGE MERON: Thank you, Mr. Powles.
4 Mr. Limaj and Mr. Musliu, who are not currently incarcerated, are
5 not attending this Status Conference, and I have to ask their respective
6 counsel to confirm that for the record.
7 Mr. Khan.
8 MR. KHAN: Your Honour, that is correct. I'm grateful.
9 JUDGE MERON: And Mr. Powles.
10 MR. POWLES: Your Honour, the same.
11 JUDGE MERON: Thank you very much.
12 Mr. Bala, however, is present today, and I want to make sure that
13 he can follow these proceedings.
14 Mr. Bala, can you hear the proceedings in a language that you
15 understand?
16 THE APPELLANT BALA: [Interpretation] [No interpretation].
17 JUDGE MERON: Thank you. You may be seated.
18 This is a Status Conference called in accordance with Rule 65 bis
19 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence. Rule 65 bis (B) requires a Status
20 Conference to be convened within 120 days of the last Status Conference to
21 allow any person in custody pending appeal the opportunity to raise issues
22 in relation thereto, including the mental and physical condition of that
23 person. The last Status Conference in this case was held on 29 August
24 2006.
25 As Mr. Bala is currently detained at the UN Detention Unit, I want
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1 to start by asking him whether there are any issues that he would like to
2 raise at this time.
3 Mr. Bala, would you please stand. Do you have any issues that you
4 would like to raise? Do you have any concerns regarding your physical or
5 mental well being?
6 THE APPELLANT BALA: [Interpretation] [No interpretation].
7 JUDGE MERON: I did not get translation.
8 Could I ask the interpreter kindly to repeat. I'm supposed to be
9 on channel 4; correct? I'm sorry, is the registrar hearing
10 interpretation?
11 Well, we will ask the interpreters to shout. Channel 9?
12 Okay. I will ask the interpreter again kindly to repeat. Thank
13 you very much.
14 You may be seated, Mr. Bala.
15 Now, I would like to ask the counsel for Mr. Limaj and Mr. Musliu
16 whether there are any issues that Mr. Limaj and Mr. Musliu would like to
17 raise through counsel.
18 First counsel for Mr. Limaj, Mr. Khan.
19 MR. KHAN: Your Honour, very grateful for the opportunity. There
20 are no issues to be raised on behalf of the respondent.
21 JUDGE MERON: Thank you very much.
22 Mr. Powles.
23 MR. POWLES: Your Honour, similarly no issues to be raised on
24 behalf of Mr. Musliu.
25 JUDGE MERON: Thank you.
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1 Currently the Appeals Chamber is in the process of reading through
2 the briefs of both the Prosecution's appeal and Mr. Bala's appeal. The
3 Appeals Chamber will schedule oral argument on the appeals as soon as
4 possible.
5 Before concluding this Status Conference, I want to ask counsel
6 for the Prosecution and the Defence whether they have any other issues
7 that they would like to raise at this time.
8 The Prosecution.
9 MS. CAREY: Thank you, Your Honour. The Prosecution has nothing
10 to raise at this time.
11 JUDGE MERON: Thank you.
12 Mr. Khan.
13 MR. KHAN: Your Honour, none on behalf of Mr. Limaj. I'm
14 grateful.
15 Mr. Guy-Smith.
16 MR. GUY-SMITH: Not on behalf of Mr. Bala. Thank you very much,
17 Your Honour.
18 JUDGE MERON: Mr. Powles.
19 MR. POWLES: Likewise, nothing on behalf of Mr. Musliu. Thank you
20 very much, Your Honour.
21 JUDGE MERON: Thank you.
22 Before we adjourn, there is one last piece of business that I
23 would like to take care of. In accordance with Rule 65 bis, we will need
24 to have another Status Conference on or before April 4, 2007. Wednesday,
25 March 21 would, I believe, be a good day for our next Status Conference.
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1 So I would like everybody to plan on having a Status Conference that day.
2 In the next year, I will hopefully send out -- in the new year,
3 sorry, I will hopefully send out an order confirming that the Status
4 Conference will be held on that date. The order will also let everybody
5 know the time of the conference and the courtroom in which it will be
6 held.
7 I thank the parties for their attendance today and call the
8 proceedings to a close.
9 --- Whereupon the Status Conference adjourned at
10 5.37 p.m.
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