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1 Thursday, 11 March 2004
2 [Status Conference]
3 [Open session]
4 [The accused entered court]
5 --- Upon commencing at 12.00 p.m.
6 JUDGE ROBINSON: Will the registrar call the case, please.
7 THE REGISTRAR: Good afternoon, Your Honour. This is case number
8 IT-02-65-PT, the Prosecutor versus Zeljko Mejakic, Momcilo Gruban, Dusan
9 Fustar, and Dusko Knezevic.
10 JUDGE ROBINSON: May we have the appearances for the Prosecutor.
11 MS. KORNER: Good morning, Your Honour. Joanna Korner, Ann
12 Sutherland and Michael McVicker assisted by Ruth Karper, case manager.
13 JUDGE ROBINSON: Thank you, Ms. Korner. For the Defence.
14 MR. SIMIC: [Interpretation] Good afternoon, Your Honour. Jovan
15 Simic attorney-at-law representing Mr. Zeljko Mejakic.
16 JUDGE ROBINSON: Could you try again, please.
17 MR. SIMIC: [Interpretation] Good afternoon, Your Honour. I am
18 attorney-at-law Jovan Simic representing Zeljko Mejakic.
19 JUDGE ROBINSON: Thank you very much.
20 MR. DUNDJER: [Interpretation] Your Honour, good afternoon.
21 Milenko Dundjer attorney-at-law representing Mr. Gruban.
22 JUDGE ROBINSON: Thank you.
23 MR. SCUDDER: Good afternoon, Your Honour. I'm Theodore Scudder
24 representing the defendant Dusan Fustar.
25 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes.
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1 MS. NEDIC: [Interpretation] Good afternoon, Your Honour.
2 Slobodanka Nedic, attorney-at-law from Belgrade representing Mr. Knezevic.
3 JUDGE ROBINSON: Thank you very much. We begin this Status
4 Conference first by looking at the pending motions of which there are
5 five. I'll just set them out, and say what the status is in relation to
6 each. There is a Prosecution 92 bis motion. We expect that this will be
7 dealt with in due course. It does require some attention because of the
8 length. There are ten binders, but we expect to deal with it, as I said,
9 in due course. Then there is a motion for judicial notice, and we expect
10 that will be dealt with within the next week or two.
11 There is also a second motion relating to conflict of interest,
12 and that will be dealt with also within that time frame.
13 For the next two motions, I'd like us to go into private session.
14 [Private session]
15 (redacted)
16 (redacted)
17 (redacted)
18 (redacted)
19 (redacted)
20 (redacted)
21 (redacted)
22 [Open session]
23 THE REGISTRAR: We're in open session.
24 JUDGE ROBINSON: Thank you. Pre-trial briefs, all the pre-trial
25 briefs are now ready. The revised consolidated pre-trial brief from the
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1 Prosecution was accepted by the Trial Chamber, and the Knezevic Defence
2 team filed a supplementary brief in response, and the Mejakic Defence also
3 filed a pre-trial brief. So all these submissions are now complete, and
4 that is good.
5 Disclosure. All disclosure, I understand, in relation to 66(A)(i)
6 and (ii) have been made with the exception of one translation of a witness
7 statement, number 17, and I believe that that has now been done.
8 Ms. Korner.
9 MS. KORNER: Your Honour, yes. It had already been disclosed, but
10 it hadn't reached Mr. Scudder. So it's been redisclosed to him.
11 JUDGE ROBINSON: Thank you. There is an issue relating to the
12 photo boards used for identification, but that is not a disclosure matter,
13 and that's a matter that will be settled otherwise.
14 I'm taking it, then, that all disclosure has been made, and I make
15 this point because I understand that on certain occasions some of the
16 Defence team have said that they have not received all the -- all the
17 items. It is, of course, the duty of the Defence to check items which are
18 submitted to them on the basis of disclosure to ensure that they have
19 received what they should receive, and I'm taking it, unless I hear to the
20 contrary, that disclosure in terms of 66(A)(i) and (ii) is complete.
21 As regards Rule 68 disclosure, the Prosecution has completed its
22 review, and disclosure of material in the Kvocka appeal, I think that
23 is -- that's an ongoing obligation in any event.
24 With regard to 68 material arising from interviews with Predrag
25 Banovic, I understand that there is an issue there as to whether something
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1 more than the extracts should be disclosed. I don't know whether any of
2 the Defence counsel would like to say anything about that.
3 MS. KORNER: Your Honour, can I assist.
4 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes, Ms. Korner.
5 MS. KORNER: We've disclosed the Rule 68 from that interview.
6 There's been a request from Mr. Scudder on behalf of Fustar for the whole
7 interview, and at the moment we've complied as was stated yesterday in the
8 Rule 65 ter conference. We have complied with our obligation to disclose
9 the Rule 68. The question of the rest of the interview with Mr. Banovic
10 is something that we're still in the process of considering as to whether
11 or not we need to disclose the whole interview, and that would only arise
12 if and when he is a Prosecution witness.
13 JUDGE ROBINSON: Thank you, Ms. Korner.
14 As far as witnesses are concerned, Ms. Korner, you're still at
15 57, 57 witnesses?
16 MS. KORNER: Yes.
17 JUDGE ROBINSON: And on the basis of that, the
18 examination-in-chief would take something in the region of six weeks plus
19 time for cross-examination.
20 MS. KORNER: Yes. I mean, we've estimated six weeks for the
21 Prosecution case, depending on the length of cross-examination.
22 JUDGE ROBINSON: So that the case could be completed within six
23 months.
24 MS. KORNER: It should be able to, yes, Your Honour.
25 JUDGE ROBINSON: Well, this case is really now ready for trial,
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1 and it is the expectation that it will come on for trial sometime in the
2 autumn depending on the availability of Trial Chambers. So that I would
3 like to fix a date for the next Status Conference or Pre-Trial Conference,
4 depending on whether trial can take place, and that date would be
5 Wednesday, the 7th of July for either a Status Conference or a Pre-Trial
6 Conference. Let us hope it will be a Pre-Trial Conference.
7 May I now ask whether any of the Defence counsel have anything to
8 say before I turn to the accused themselves. Yes.
9 MR. SIMIC: [Interpretation] Your Honours, the Defence of
10 Mr. Mejakic has no new issues to raise. Thank you.
11 JUDGE ROBINSON: Well, let me turn to the accused themselves to
12 ascertain from them whether they have anything to say in respect of their
13 conditions of detention or indeed any other matter relating to the trial.
14 First the accused Mejakic. Mr. Mejakic, please stand.
15 THE ACCUSED MEJAKIC: [Interpretation] I have no questions or
16 comments, Your Honour. I feel fine.
17 JUDGE ROBINSON: Thank you. The accused Dusan Fustar. Mr.
18 Fustar, please stand.
19 THE ACCUSED FUSTAR: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I have no
20 complaints. I feel fine in the Detention Unit. The guards are treating
21 us well and everything is fine. Thank you.
22 JUDGE ROBINSON: Thank you very much, Mr. Fustar.
23 And Dusko Knezevic. Mr. Knezevic, please stand.
24 THE ACCUSED KNEZEVIC: [Interpretation] I have nothing to say, Your
25 Honour. I am in good health, and I would like to say everything -- I
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1 would like to say that the Detention Unit and the administration of the
2 prison are very good to us indeed.
3 JUDGE ROBINSON: Well, full marks for the Detention Unit.
4 MS. KORNER: Your Honour, may I just mention one matter about the
5 estimate of six weeks, and that's this: It is, of course, very much
6 dependent on the agreed facts issue, because obviously if we have to -- it
7 was explained yesterday in the 65 ter conference if there is still a
8 continued dispute about the background, we will have to call an additional
9 witness to deal with the background.
10 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes.
11 MS. KORNER: So it is dependent on that.
12 JUDGE ROBINSON: Yes. We take that into account, Ms. Korner.
13 Thank you.
14 If there is no other matter, the hearing is adjourned.
15 --- Whereupon the Status Conference adjourned at
16 12.13 p.m.
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