Case No. IT-01-42-T

Prosecutor v. Pavle Strugar

DECISION

THE DEPUTY REGISTRAR,

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

CONSIDERING the Rules of Procedure and Evidence as adopted by the Tribunal on 11 February 1994, as subsequently amended, and in particular Rules 44 and 45 thereof;

CONSIDERING the Directive on Assignment of Defence Counsel (hereinafter "the Directive"), as adopted by the Tribunal on 28 July 1994, as subsequently amended, and in particular, Article 16 (C);

CONSIDERING that on 6 November 2001, Mr. Pavle Strugar (hereinafter "the accused") requested that Mr. Goran Rodic, attorney at law from Podgorica, be assigned as his defence counsel;

CONSIDERING the request of Mr. Rodic dated 16 November 2001 to have Mr. Vladimir Petrovic, attorney at law from Belgrade, assigned as co-counsel;

NOTING the decision of the Registrar dated 19 February 2002 assigning permanently Mr. Rodic and Mr. Petrovic as counsel and co-counsel of the accused effective as of 25 February 2002;

NOTING the request of Mr. Toma Fila dated 2 December 2002 seeking the assignment of Mr. Petrovic as co-counsel for the accused Nikola Sainovic;

NOTING the subsequent decision of the Registrar dated 23 December 2002 withdrawing Mr. Petrovic as co-counsel for the accused Strugar and assigning him as co-counsel for the accused Sainovic;

CONSIDERING however, that Mr. Petrovic remained as legal assistant for the accused Strugar’s defence team;

CONSIDERING the request of Mr. Rodic dated 23 September 2003 seeking the assignment of Mr. Petrovic as co-counsel of the accused while remaining co-counsel for Sainovic in a limited capacity;

CONSIDERING that Mr. Toma Fila gave his written consent to the assignment of Mr. Petrovic as co-counsel for the accused Strugar while limiting his role in the Sainovic defence team;

CONSIDERING the recent developments in the Strugar case, namely the commencement of the trial stage on 16 December 2003;

CONSIDERING that on the basis of Article 16 (C) of the Directive, the Registrar may assign a second counsel to assist the lead counsel in the interest of justice;

CONSIDERING that Mr. Petrovic is currently on the Rule 45 list of counsel who are eligible to be considered for an assignment as counsel;

CONSIDERING that the assignment of co-counsel at this stage of the proceedings would facilitate an expeditious trial and is in the interest of justice;

CONSIDERING that Mr. Rodic and Mr. Fila have confirmed that no prejudice will be incurred by either the Sainovic defence team or the Strugar defence team as a result of Mr. Petrovic’s assignment in two cases;

DECIDES to assign Mr. Vladimir Petrovic as co-counsel for the accused Strugar while remaining co-counsel in a limited capacity for the accused Sainovic effective as of the date of commencement of the trial, namely 16 December 2003.

_____________
David Tolbert
Deputy Registrar

Dated this eighteenth day of December 2003
At The Hague
The Netherlands