Case No IT-05-86-I

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 Rule 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 11(B) and 14(A);

NOTING the Code of Professional Conduct for Counsel Appearing Before the International Tribunal (IT/125 REV.1);

CONSIDERING that Mr Vinko Pandurevic ("Accused") was transferred to the seat of the Tribunal on 23 March 2005 and that his initial appearance was held on 31 March 2005;

CONSIDERING that the Accused waived his right to be assigned duty counsel for the initial appearance;

CONSIDERING however, that on 25 March 2005, the Accused applied for Tribunal legal aid pursuant to Article 8 of the Directive on the basis that he does not have sufficient means to remunerate counsel and requested that the Registry assign Mr Dordje Sarapa, attorney at law from Belgrade as his permanent counsel;

CONSIDERING that Mr Sarapa is a member of the Association of Defence Counsel and is currently on the Rule 45 list of counsel eligible for assignment to indigent suspects and accused and has indicated his willingness to represent the Accused;

CONSIDERING that the Registry has not yet determined whether or to what extent the Accused is able to remunerate counsel;

CONSIDERING that in accordance with Article 11(B) of the Directive, the Registrar may assign counsel to an accused for a period of 120 days to ensure that an accused’s right to counsel is not affected while the Registry examines his ability to remunerate counsel;

CONSIDERING that in this case it is necessary to assign counsel to the Accused pursuant to Article 11(B) to ensure that his right to counsel is not affected while the Registry assesses his ability to remunerate counsel;

HEREBY DECIDES to assign Mr Dordje Sarapa as counsel to the Accused for a period of 120 days pursuant to Article 11(B) of the Directive, effective as of the date of this decision.

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John Hocking
Deputy Registrar

Dated this twenty-second day of April 2005
At The Hague,
The Netherlands.