IN THE TRIAL CHAMBER

Before:
Judge Patrick Robinson, Presiding
Judge Richard May
Judge Mohamed Fassi Fihri

Registrar:
Mr. Hans Holthuis

Order of:
11 July 2001

PROSECUTOR

v.

DUSKO SIKIRICA
DAMIR DOSEN
DRAGAN KOLUNDZIJA

__________________________________________________________

ORDER FOR VIDEO-CONFERENCE LINK

____________________________________________________________

The Office of the Prosecutor:

Mr. Dirk Ryneveld
Ms. Julia Baly
Mr. Daryl Mundis

Counsel for the Accused:

Mr. Veselin Londrovic and Mr. Michael Greaves, for Dusko Sikirica
Mr. Vladimir Petrovic and Mr. Goran Rodic, for Damir Dosen
Mr. Ivan Lawrence and Mr. Jovan Ostojic, for Dragan Kolundzija

 

THIS 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 ("International Tribunal"),

BEING SEISED OF a "Motion for Testimony via Video-Link Conference" filed by the Defence for the accused, Damir Dosen, ("the Dosen Defence") on 6 July 2001 ("the Application"), requesting that five witnesses identified in the Application be permitted to testify on behalf of the Dosen Defence by means of a video-conference link,

NOTING the "Response to the Motions filed by the Accused Damir Dosen for Testimony via Video-link Conference and for Protective Measures" filed by the Office of the Prosecutor ("Prosecution") on 10 July 2001 in which the Prosecution objected to the use of video-link testimony for one of the five witnesses and further objected to the grant of the protective measures sought by the Dosen Defence in a separate motion in respect of three of the witnesses,

NOTING the Reply filed by the Dosen Defence on 11 July 2001, providing additional information in support of the request for video-conference for this witness,

NOTING that the Dosen Defence is scheduled to commence the presentation of its case on Monday 16 July 2001,

NOTING that the Dosen Defence has requested that such video-conference link take place for a period of three days commencing Monday 16 July 2001,

CONSIDERING that the Trial Chamber prefers that witnesses be heard directly whenever possible,

CONSIDERING that the Dosen Defence has established that the testimony of these witnesses is sufficiently important as to make it unfair to proceed without it and that the Trial Chamber is satisfied that all five witnesses are unable or unwilling for good reason to come to the International Tribunal,

CONSIDERING that the Trial Chamber finds that it would be in the interests of justice to grant the Application in respect of all five of the witnesses but that, for organisational reasons, it is not desirable to commence the video-conference link on Monday 16 July 2001,

CONSIDERING that guidelines for the giving of evidence by video-conference link have been laid down in the "Decision on the Defence Motions to Summons and Protect Defence Witnesses, and on the Giving of Evidence by Video-Link", issued by Trial Chamber II in Prosecutor v. Dusko Tadic, Case No. IT-94-1, 25 June 1996 ("the Tadic Decicion"),

PURSUANT TO Rule 71 bis of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Tribunal

HEREBY GRANTS the Application in part, ORDERS as follows:

(1) the five witnesses named in the Application may testify through video-conference link from Tuesday 17 July 2001 provided that the necessary equipment can be made available to the International Tribunal;

(2) the Dosen Defence shall arrange to have alternative witnesses available to testify in person on Monday 16 July 2001 and shall notify the Trial Chamber and all other parties of the names of such witnesses by Friday 13 July 2001,

and DIRECTS the Registrar to take all reasonable steps in the circumstances of the present case to ensure that the guidelines established in the Tadic Decision are followed.

The Trial Chamber shall address the issue of protective measures separately.

 

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

___________________________
Patrick Robinson
Presiding

Dated this eleventh day of July 2001
At The Hague
The Netherlands

[Seal of the Tribunal]