Case No.: IT-98-34-T

BEFORE TRIAL CHAMBER I SECTION A

Before:
Judge Liu Daqun, Presiding
Judge Maureen Harding Clark
Judge Fatoumata Diarra

Registrar:
Mr. Hans Holthuis

Decision of:
3 October 2002

PROSECUTOR
v.
MLADEN NALETILIC aka "TUTA"
and
VINKO MARTINOVIC aka "STELA"

___________________________________________________________

DECISION ON THE PROSECUTION SUBMISSION OF BCS ORIGINAL AND BCS TRANSLATION OF SOME EXHIBITS

___________________________________________________________

The Office of the Prosecutor:

Mr. Kenneth Scott

Counsel for the Accused:

Mr. Kresimir Krsnik, for Mladen Naletilic
Mr. Branko Seric, for Vinko Martinovic

 

TRIAL CHAMBER I, SECTION A ("the Chamber") of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 ("the Tribunal"),

BEING SEISED OF the following submissions:

  1. "Prosecution Submission of BCS Original and BCS Translation of Some Exhibits", filed on 25 September 2002;
  2. "Accuseds Naletilic’s Objections to Exhibits P606.2, 876.01, 876.02 and 876.03", filed on 1 October 2002;

NOTING that the Prosecutor submitted BCS originals and translations of five exhibits that were previously used during the presentation of the Naletilic case and that she wishes to tender into evidence; that the Naletilic Defence objected to the admission of four of those five exhibits;

CONSIDERING that in principle, exhibits should be submitted through a witness;

CONSIDERING that, pursuant to Rule 89 (C) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence ("the Rules"), "[a] Chamber may admit any relevant evidence which it deems to have probative value";

CONSIDERING that the Appeals Chamber has held that "[t]here is no legal basis … that proof of authenticity is a separate threshold requirement for the admissibility of documentary evidence";1

CONSIDERING, however, that in accordance with the jurisprudence of the Tribunal, it is required that the evidence presents "sufficient indicia of reliability";2

CONSIDERING that the party conducting the direct examination of a witness must lay the source of the document it wishes to submit through the witness, in order for that document to meet the required degree of reliability;

CONSIDERING that the party conducting the cross-examination of a witness must lay the background and the source of the documents it wishes to submit through the witness, in order to allow the witness to recognise or reject the document;

CONSIDERING furthermore that the mere admission of a document does not necessarily mean that the document gives an accurate portrayal of the facts;3

RECALLING that the decision to authorise the admission of a document is without prejudice to the value or weight which will be accorded to the document at the final stage of the trial;

FOR THE FOREGOING REASONS,

PURSUANT to Rules 54 and 89 of the Rules,

HEREBY ORDERS that the following exhibits are admitted into evidence:

P606.2; P796.3; P876.01; P876.02 and P876.03;

REMINDS the parties that, unless otherwise ordered, any objection to the list of exhibits submitted by the other party must be filed within seven (7) days of the date of the filing of the said list.

 

Done in both English and French, the English version being authoritative.

Dated this third day of October 2002,
At The Hague,
The Netherlands

_____________
Judge Liu Daqun
Presiding Judge

[Seal of the Tribunal]


1 - Prosecutor v. Delalic et al., "Decision on Application of Defendant Zejnil Delalic for Leave to Appeal against the Decision of the Trial Chamber of 19 January 1998 for the Admissibility of Evidence", Case No. IT-96-21-AR73.2, 4 March 1998, at para. 25.
2 - Ibid., at para. 17; See also, Prosecutor v. Aleksovki, Decision on Prosecutor's Appeal on Admissibility of Evidence, Case No. IT-95-14/1-A, 16 February 1999; Prosecutor v. Kordic and Cerkez, Decision on Appeal Regarding Statement of a Deceased Witness, Case No. IT-95-14/2-A, 21 July 2000; Prosecutor v. Brdanin and Talic, Order on the Standards Governing the Admission of Evidence, Case No. IT-99-36-T, 15 February 2002, at para. 18.
3 - Ibid.