Case No. IT-97-25/1-PT

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 subsequently amended and in particular, Articles 6, 8, 10 and 11 (B) thereof;

CONSIDERING the Code of Professional Conduct for Counsel Appearing Before the International Tribunal ("the Code") as subsequently amended and in particular, Article 9 (B) thereof;

CONSIDERING that on 15 August 2003 Mr. Mitar Rasevic (hereinafter "the accused") was transferred to the custody of the International Tribunal;

CONSIDERING that the initial appearance of the accused was scheduled for 18 August 2003, and that it was necessary for the Registry to secure representation for the accused;

CONSIDERING the decision of the Registrar dated 18 August 2003 temporarily assigning Mr. Branko Lukic, attorney at law from Doboj, Republika Srpska, in order to secure the rights of the accused during his initial appearance and until such time that a permanent counsel is assigned;

CONSIDERING that on 2 October 2003, the accused requested the assignment of Mr. Vladimir Domazet, attorney at law from Belgrade, as his lead counsel;

CONSIDERING that Mr. Domazet is currently assigned lead counsel in The Prosecutor v. Vasiljevic which has entered into the final stage of appeal;

CONSIDERING FURTHER that the Registry has ascertained that no conflict of interest exists between the assignment in The Prosecutor v. Vasiljevic and the present assignment;

CONSIDERING that Mr. Domazet is on the Rule 45 list of counsel who are eligible to be considered for an assignment, and is a member of the Association of Defence Counsel;

CONSIDERING that the accused submitted his declaration of means on 15 August 2003;

CONSIDERING that for the purpose of establishing whether the accused satisfies the requisite conditions for assignment of counsel, the Registrar may inquire into his means and request the gathering of any information or the production of any documents to verify the request;

CONSIDERING that Article 11(B) of the Directive provides that in order to ensure that the right to counsel is not affected while the Registrar examines the declaration of means laid down in Article 7 (B) and (C) and the information obtained pursuant to Article 10, the Registrar may temporarily assign counsel to a suspect or an accused for a period not exceeding 120 days;

DECIDES to withdraw the temporary assignment of Mr. Lukic as counsel to the accused and assign Mr. Domazet, as lead counsel for a period of 120 days, effective as of 15 August 2003.

David Tolbert
Deputy Registrar

Dated this Sixteenth day of October 2003
At The Hague
The Netherland