Case No. IT-04-81 PT

The Prosecutor v. Momcilo Perisic

DECISION

THE DEPUTY REGISTRAR,

NOTING the Statute of the Tribunal as adopted by the Security Council under Resolution 827 (1993), and in particular Article 21 thereof;

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 thereof;

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 14 and 16 thereof;

NOTING the Code of Professional Conduct for Counsel Appearing Before the International Tribunal (IT/125 REV.1) ("Code of Conduct") and in particular Article 14 thereof;

CONSIDERING that on 9 March 2005, acting pursuant to Rule 62(B) of the Rules, the Registrar assigned Mr Karim Khan as duty counsel to Momcilo Perisic (“Accused");

CONSIDERING that on 21 April 2005, the Registrar assigned Mr James Castle, attorney at law from the United States, as counsel to the Accused for a period of 120 days pending the completion of the Registry’s inquiry into the Accused’s ability to remunerate counsel;

CONSIDERING that on 15 August 2005, the Deputy Registrar issued a decision finding that the Accused was able to remunerate counsel in part and assigning Mr Castle as his counsel permanently;

CONSIDERING that Mr Castle has requested the Registry to assign Mr Dusan Slijepcevic, an attorney from Serbia and Montenegro, as his co-counsel and that the Accused has joined in this request;

CONSIDERING that Mr Slijepcevic is on the Tribunal’s list of counsel eligible for assignment to indigent suspects and accused but because he does not speak a working language of the Tribunal to the requisite standard, he is eligible for assignment as co-counsel only;

CONSIDERING that Mr Slijepcevic previously acted as co-counsel in the case of Dragan Obrenovic before the Tribunal (IT-02-60/2);

CONSIDERING that the proceedings against Mr Obrenovic have been completed and that Mr Slijepcevic’s representation has ended;

CONSIDERING that the cases of the Accused and Mr Obrenovic are substantially related in that there is a factual nexus between the charges brought against the Accused in relation to events in Srebrenica in 1995 and the crimes for which Mr Obrenovic was convicted, giving rise to a concern about conflict of interest;

CONSIDERING that because the matters are substantially related, Mr Slijepcevic cannot act in the Accused’s case if the interests of the Accused are materially adverse to those of Mr Obrenovic or are likely to become materially adverse in the future;¹

CONSIDERING that a superior-subordinate relationship allegedly existed between the Accused and Mr Obrenovic at the relevant time, but that this relationship, if established, was remote and therefore may not necessarily cause a conflict of interest;

CONSIDERING that although there is a nexus between the charges brought against the Accused and Mr Obrenovic, they are not charged with the same acts or omissions in relation to the events in Srebrenica;

CONSIDERING that Mr Obrenovic’s former lead counsel has provided the Registry with an opinion in which he states that, in his view, Mr Slijepcevic’s former representation of Mr Obrenovic would not place him in a conflict of interest situation if he were to act for the Accused;

CONSIDERING that although there is a possibility of Mr Obrenovic being called to testify as a Prosecution witness in the Accused’s case, Mr Slijepcevic and Mr Castle have agreed that should this happen, Mr Slijepcevic would take no part in the examination of Mr Obrenovic or in the preparation of that examination;

CONSIDERING that in light of the foregoing, the Registry is satisfied that the interests of the Accused are not materially adverse now and that the possibility of those interests becoming materially adverse in the future is acceptably low;

CONSIDERING therefore that within the legal framework of this Tribunal, Mr Slijepcevic’s former representation of Mr Obrenovic does not disqualify him from acting as co-counsel in the Accused’s case;

CONSIDERING that in addition, the Registry has fully informed the Accused and his counsel of the effect that Mr Slijepcevic’s former representation of Mr Obrenovic will have on his ability to act for the Accused and that after being so informed, the Accused has consented in writing to Mr Slijepcevic acting as co-counsel in his case;

CONSIDERING that pursuant to Article 16(C)(ii) of the Directive, the Registrar may assign a co-counsel who does not speak either of the two working languages of the Tribunal but who speaks the native language of the accused if it is in the interests of justice in a particular case;

CONSIDERING that, having reviewed the submissions of Mr Castle and the Accused, the Registry is of the view that in the Accused’s case it is in the interests of justice to assign Mr Slijepcevic as co-counsel;

CONSIDERING that Mr Slijepcevic has indicated his willingness to be assigned as co-counsel;

HEREBY DECIDES to assign Mr Slijepcevic as co-counsel to Mr Castle, effective as of the date of this decision;

ADVISES Mr Castle and Mr Slijepcevic that the Code of Conduct places them under a duty to exercise all care to ensure that no conflict of interest arises and to take prescribed steps if a conflict does arise.

________________
John Hocking
Deputy Registrar

Dated this 7^th day of April 2006
At The Hague,
The Netherlands.