Case No. IT-03-68-T

IN TRIAL CHAMBER II

Before:
Judge Carmel Agius, Presiding
Judge Hans Henrik Brydensholt
Judge Albin Eser

Registrar:
Mr. Hans Holthuis

Order of:
3 February 2006

PROSECUTOR

v.

NASER ORIC

________________________________________

FURTHER PROPRIO MOTU ORDER TO CALL A HANDWRITING EXPERT

________________________________________

The Office of the Prosecutor:

Mr. Jan Wubben
Ms. Patricia Sellers Viseur
Mr. Gramsci di Fazio
Ms. JoAnne Richardson

Counsel for the Accused:

Ms. Vasvija Vidovic
Mr. John Jones

 

TRIAL CHAMBER II ("Trial 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 ("Tribunal"):

NOTING that Rule 98 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the Tribunal ("Rules") allows the Trial Chamber to "proprio motu summon witnesses and order their attendance";

NOTING the "Proprio Motu Order to Call a Handwriting Expert" issued by the Trial Chamber on 25 January 2006 ("First Order"), in which the Trial Chamber instructed the Registry to appoint an independent handwriting expert ("Handwriting Expert") pursuant to the "Practice Direction on Engagement of Expert Consultants who Provide Reports and/or Testimony at the Request of Chambers"1 to conduct a forensic examination of the original documents ("Questioned Documents") of which Prosecution exhibits P3, P4, P13, P14, P37, P73, P74, P75, P158, P210 and P2692 are photocopies in order to determine the authenticity of the Questioned Documents and to resolve the disputes identified by the conflicting opinions of the Prosecution and the Defence Handwriting Experts3, and ordered that the Handwriting Expert shall be made available for a meeting with the Trial Chamber;

NOTING that Mr. Dorijan Kerzan was designated by the Registry as the Handwriting Expert and that he attended a meeting with the Trial Chamber on Thursday 1 February 20064 ("Meeting") in the course of which the Questioned Documents were consigned to the Handwriting Expert and the terms of reference were determined;

NOTING that, in addition to the Questioned Documents, the original document of which Prosecution exhibit P100 is a photocopy was consigned to the Handwriting Expert as a basis for comparison with the alleged signatures of Naser Oric ("Accused") appearing on the Questioned Documents ("Reference Signature Documents");

NOTING further that, before the Questioned Documents were consigned to him, the Handwriting Expert undertook, in written form, to examine the documents entirely by non-destructive and non-damaging means, to protect the physical integrity of the questioned documents and to ensure that they are returned as soon as the examination is completed to the Registry Representative in a condition suitable for further examination should it ever be required;

PURSUANT TO Rules 54 and 98 of the Rules;

HEREBY ORDERS that

  1. the Handwriting Expert shall forensically examine the Questioned Documents to render an opinion, including any inconclusive opinion would the case arise, as to whether:

  1. after completion of the forensic examination of the Questioned Documents, the Handwriting Expert shall include his opinion in a written report in his native language, Slovenian ("Report");

  2. as discussed during the Meeting, the Handwriting Expert shall maintain custody over the original of the Report and submit to the Registry a) two copies of his Report within a deadline sufficient to provide adequate time for its translation into the English and BCS languages prior to the oral evidence of the Handwriting Expert and b) five copies of a summary of the Report in the English language;

  3. thereafter, the Registry shall provide for the translation of the Report of the Handwriting Expert from the Slovenian into the English and BCS languages, as expeditiously as practicable after completion of the Report and prior to the oral evidence of the Handwriting Expert;

  4. the Registry Representative shall retrieve the Questioned Documents and the Reference Signature Documents from the Handwriting Expert after completion of the forensic examination and upon his return to the Tribunal to give oral evidence, in accordance with the provisions set out in the First Order;

  5. the Handwriting Expert shall be available to give oral evidence before the Trial Chamber on Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 March 2006, as well as Friday 3 March, if so required;

  6. Wilhelmus Petrus Franciscus Fagel, expert witness called by the Prosecution, and Esad Bilic, expert witness called by the Defence, shall be available to be present during the presentation of the oral evidence of the Handwriting Expert to assist both parties in the examination of the Handwriting Expert, should either of the parties so desire;

  7. the oral evidence of the Handwriting Expert shall be presented as follows:

 

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

Dated this third day of January 2006,
At The Hague,
The Netherlands

_________________________
Carmel Agius
Presiding Judge

[Seal of the Tribunal]


1. Practice Direction on Engagement of Expert Consultants who Provide Reports and/or Testimony at the Request of Chambers, Office of the President, IT/224, 15 December 2003.
2. At the time of issuance of the First Order, the Trial Chamber was not in a position to finalise the total number of documents to be examined by the Handwriting Expert.
3. The Prosecution Handwriting Expert Report is a joint report of the findings of handwriting expert, Wilhelmus Petrus Franciscus Fagel and document examination expert, Jan Adriaan Koeijer, and is in evidence at ex. P264, "Report" and ex. P265, "Addendum to the Report". The Defence Handwriting Expert Report by Esad Bili} is in evidence at ex. D1012.
4. The meeting was held publicly with both parties and the Accused present.