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Krajina, Prosecutor v. Brdanin, Decision on Motion by Radoslav Brdanin for Provisional Release, IT-99-36 (ICTY TC, Jul. 25, 2000)

    IN TRIAL CHAMBER II

Before:
Judge David Hunt, Presiding
Judge Florence Ndepele Mwachande Mumba
Judge Liu Daqun

Registrar:
Mrs Dorothee de Sampayo Garrido-Nijgh

Decision of:
25 July 2000

PROSECUTOR

v

Radoslav BRDANIN & Momir TALIC

_________________________________________________

DECISION ON MOTION BY RADOSLAV BRDANIN
FOR PROVISIONAL RELEASE

_________________________________________________

The Office of the Prosecutor:

Ms Joanna Korner
Ms Anna Richterova
Ms Ann Sutherland

Counsel for Accused:

Mr John Ackerman for Radoslav Brdanin
Maître Xavier de Roux and Maître Michel Pitron for Momir Talic

 

1 Introduction

1. Pursuant to Rule 65 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence (“Rules ”), the accused Radoslav Brdanin (“Brdanin”) seeks provisional release pending his trial.1 The application is opposed by the prosecution.2 Brdanin has relied upon witnesses in support of his application, and both parties requested an oral hearing.3 Difficulties were experienced by counsel for Brdanin in obtaining statements of the evidence to be given,4 and – by reason of the Trial Chamber’s other commitments – the request for an oral hearing further delayed the resolution of the Motion. The oral hearing took place on 20 July 2000.

2. Brdanin is charged jointly with Momir Talic with a number of crimes alleged to have been committed in the area of Bosnia and Herzegovina now known as Republika Srpska. Those crimes may be grouped as follows:

(i) genocide5 and complicity in genocide ;6

(ii) persecutions,7 extermination,8 deportation9 and forcible transfer (amounting to inhumane acts),10 as crimes against humanity;

(iii) torture, as both a crime against humanity11 and a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions;12

(iv) wilful killing13 and unlawful and wanton extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity,14 as grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions; and

(v) wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages or devastation not justified by military necessity15 and destruction or wilful damage done to institutions dedicated to religion, 16 as violations of the laws or customs of war.

Each accused is alleged to be responsible both individually and as a superior for these crimes.

3. The allegations against the two accused assert their involvement in a plan to effect the “ethnic cleansing” of the proposed new Serbian Territory in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the area now known as Republika Srpska) by removing nearly all of the Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat populations from the areas claimed for that territory .17 Between April and December 1992 , forces under the control of the Bosnian Serb authorities (comprising the army, the paramilitary, and territorial defence and police units) are said to have caused the death of hundreds of, and the forced departure of thousands from, the Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat populations from those areas.18 Brdanin is alleged to have been the President of the Crisis Staff of the Autonomous Region of Krajina (“ARK”), one of the bodies responsible for the co-ordination and execution of most of the operational phase of the plan to create the new Serbian Territory, and (as such) to have had executive authority in the ARK and to be responsible for managing the work of the Crisis Staff and the implementation and co-ordination of Crisis Staff decisions.19 The pleaded allegations are described in more detail in a previous Decision in these proceedings.20

4. Brdanin was arrested on 6 July 1999. He has since unsuccessfully moved to have the indictment against him dismissed upon the basis that the Tribunal has no jurisdiction in the matter,21 and he has unsuccessfully petitioned for a Writ of Habeas Corpus upon the basis that he was illegally restrained .22

2 The relevant provision

5. Rule 65(A) states that an accused may not be released except upon an order of a Chamber. Rule 65(B) provides:

Release may be ordered by a Trial Chamber only after hearing the host country and only if it is satisfied that the accused will appear for trial and, if released, will not pose a danger to any victim, witness or other person.

3 The material put forward by the parties

6. Brdanin has filed a signed “Personal Guarantee”, by which he agrees (so far as is presently relevant) to surrender his passport to the International Police Task Force in Banja Luka, to remain within the Municipalities of Banja Luka and Celinac , to report once a day to the local Banja Luka police, to receive occasional unannounced visits by the International Police Task Force to check on his whereabouts, and not to have any contact whatsoever with any prosecution witness or potential witness . He says that he understands that his failure to comply with any of these conditions “shall give the prosecution the right to request my immediate return to The Hague ”.23

7. Brdanin has also filed a “Guaranty of the Government of the Republic of Srpska ”, signed by Milorad Dodik as the “President of the Government”, and by which the Government –

[…] takes upon itself to follow all the orders of the Trial Chambre [sic] so that Mr Radoslav Brdanin would appear, in accordance with the court order, before the International Criminal Tribunal at any time.

More specifically, the Government recognises that its “guaranty and assurance” involves the –

[…] [i]mmediate arrest of the accused if he attempts to escape or violate any of the conditions of his provisional release (as The International Criminal Tribunal informed Bosnia and Herzegovina), and inform the International Tribunal so that everything could be prepared for his return to the International Tribunal. 24

8. Brdanin produced evidence from his wife, Mira Brdanin, by way of a notarised statement to the effect that he had been unemployed from March 1995 until February 1999. At the time of his arrest (in July 1999) Brdanin was employed at the Head Office for Restoration of the Republika Srpska. She outlines the financial difficulties she was encountering as a result of her husband’s detention, and said that life for their two children (aged twentytwo and sixteen years) and herself had been “ unbearably difficult”. She expresses confidence that her husband would comply with any conditions imposed upon his release, that he would not in any way trouble, threaten or in any other way disturb anyone who is or who might be a prosecution witness against him, and that he would appear for his trial. The prosecution did not wish to cross-examine Mrs Brdanin upon that statement.

9. Evidence was also given by Milan Trbojevic (“Trbojevic”) in support of the application . Trbojevic is presently an Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republika Srpska , having formerly been the Minister for Justice and, before that, a judge for many years and a lawyer in Sarajevo. He has known Brdanin since 1991 when both men were members of parliament, and he says that he came to know Brdanin “quite well” over this time. In 1996, following the Dayton Peace Agreement, Brdanin and Trbojevic established a political party (called the “People’s Party of Republika Srpska”), with which Trbojevic remained until late 1997 or early 1998. After that, they saw each other a few times in town at Banja Luka. 25

10. Trbojevic describes Brdanin as an exceptional man who keeps his word and who honours his obligations. He says that he is convinced that Brdanin, if released , would not directly or indirectly harass, intimidate or otherwise interfere with any persons who are or who may be witnesses for the prosecution in the case against him. He is sure that Brdanin would appear at the Tribunal whenever asked to do so and that he would comply with any reporting conditions imposed upon him.26 Trbojevic agreed, however, that he is in no position himself to ensure that Brdanin did so. He said that he had read the indictment originally served on Brdanin (which contained but one charge, that of a crime against humanity), and it was left unclear as to whether he was unaware that Brdanin is now charged with genocide in the amended indictment.27 The prosecution did not make any submission concerning Trbojevic’s state of awareness of the charges against Brdanin.

11. Trbojevic said that, as Minister for Justice, he had played a part in establishing the policy of the Government of Republika Srpska with regard to guarantees given for persons detained by the Tribunal, that the guarantees will be strictly and absolutely enforced. This policy, he said, is explained to each detained person who seeks such a guarantee.28

4 The contentions of the parties, analysis and findings

(a) The recent amendment to Rule 65

12. Prior to December 1999, Rule 65(B) obliged an applicant for provisional release to establish “exceptional circumstances” in addition to the matters presently specified in the Rule. Brdanin has submitted that, as a result of the deletion of that provision , provisional release is no longer to be considered exceptional,29 so that the presumption is that provisional release will now be the usual situation (or the norm).30 The prosecution replies that the effect of the amendment has not been to establish provisional release as the norm and detention the exception, because the accused must still satisfy the Trial Chamber that – to use the words of Rule 65(B) – he “will appear for trial and, if released, will not pose a danger to any victim, witness or other person”.31 (For present purposes, the requirement that the host country be heard may be ignored .) The Trial Chamber agrees with the prosecution that the amendment to Rule 65 has not made provisional release the norm. The particular circumstances of each case must be considered in the light of the provisions of Rule 65 as it now stands .32

13. Brdanin has further submitted that the effect of the amendment to Rule 65 has been that, once the detained person has established that he will appear and will not pose such a danger, the onus passes to the prosecution to establish exceptional circumstances which require the application to be refused.33 That submission misstates the onus. The wording of the Rule squarely places the onus at all times on the applicant to establish his entitlement to provisional release .34

(b) Appearance for trial

14. Brdanin relies upon the material referred to in Section 3 of this Decision as demonstrating that he will appear for trial. Reliance is also placed upon the fact that he has a wife and family in Banja Luka, and it is suggested that he would not willingly put himself in the position of losing his relationship with them by fleeing .35

15. The prosecution submits that the “Guaranty” of the Government of Republika Srpska should not be considered sufficient to satisfy the Trial Chamber that Brdanin, if released, would appear for trial in the light of the total failure so far of the Republika Srpska to abide by its basic obligations to comply with orders of the Tribunal for the arrest and transfer of persons.36 Republika Srpska has in fact transferred some persons who have surrendered themselves, but the prosecution’s point is well made in relation to the failure of Republika Srpska to arrest any indicted persons. The Trial Chamber accepts that, in this respect, actions speak louder than words. Brdanin was a high level Government official at the time of the events which are alleged against him. The amended indictment describes him as having reached, by 1992, the positions of Minister for Construction, Traffic and Utilities and acting Vice-President in the Government of Republika Srpska.37 Even if it be accepted that he was dismissed as a Minister in 1995, Brdanin inevitably has very valuable information which he could disclose to the Tribunal, if minded to co-operate with the prosecution for mitigation purposes.38 That would be a substantial disincentive for Republika Srpska to enforce its guarantee to arrest, for the first time, an indicted person within its Territory.39 The only sanction which the Tribunal possesses for the failure of Republika Srpska to comply with its “Guaranty” is to report it to the Security Council of the United Nations. Previous reports of non-compliance by Republika Srpska with its obligations to the Tribunal to arrest persons indicted by it have had no effect upon the continuing total failure of that entity to comply with those obligations. 40

16. The prosecution has also submitted that Brdanin’s own signed “Personal Guarantee ” is insufficient to establish that he will appear, in the light of his obvious self-interest.41 It says that Brdanin is charged with extremely serious crimes for which, if he is convicted, he faces a very substantial sentence of imprisonment because of his high level position in relation to those crimes.42 In reply , Brdanin has argued that the nature of the crime charged does not amount to an exceptional circumstance which the prosecution may show as requiring the refusal of provisional release.43 This argument misunderstands the point being made by the prosecution. It is a matter of common experience that the more serious the charge, and the greater the likely sentence if convicted, the greater the reasons for not appearing for trial.44 It was to that issue (upon which the applicant bears the onus of proof) that the prosecution’s submission was directed. The Trial Chamber accepts that, notwithstanding the evidence of Trbojevic, Brdanin has reason enough for not wanting to appear. Again, common experience suggests that any person in his position, even if he is innocent, is likely to take advantage of the refuge which Republika Srpska presently provides to other high-level indicted persons.

17. It is necessary to say something about one issue which commonly arises in these applications, if only for the purposes of putting it to one side in relation to the present case. Where an accused person has voluntarily surrendered to the Tribunal , and depending upon the circumstances of the particular case, considerable weight is often given to that fact in determining whether the accused will appear at his trial.45 Conversely, and again depending upon the circumstances of the particular case, considerable weight would be given to the fact that the accused did not voluntarily surrender to the Tribunal when determining that issue. In the present case, Brdanin was arrested on a sealed indictment . There is no suggestion that he knew of its existence. He was thus given no opportunity to surrender voluntarily to the Tribunal if he had wished to do so, and he has been denied the benefit which such a surrender would have provided to him in relation to this issue. That is an unfortunate consequence of the use of sealed indictments , as it cannot be assumed one way or the other that, had he been given that opportunity , Brdanin would have taken or rejected it. It is important to emphasise, therefore , that in such a case – absent specific evidence directed to that issue – the Trial Chamber cannot take the fact that the applicant did not voluntarily surrender into account, and it has not done so in the present case.

18. The absence of any power in the Tribunal to execute its own arrest warrant upon an applicant in the former Yugoslavia in the event that he does not appear for trial , and the Tribunal’s need to rely upon local authorities within that territory or upon international bodies to effect arrests on its behalf, place a substantial burden upon any applicant for provisional release to satisfy the Trial Chamber that he will indeed appear for trial if released. That is not a re-introduction of the previous requirement that the applicant establish exceptional circumstances to justify the grant of provisional release. It is simply an acceptance of the reality of the situation in which both the Tribunal and applicants for provisional release find themselves. The Trial Chamber has not been satisfied by Brdanin that he will appear for his trial.

(c) Interference with witnesses

19. The prosecution draws attention to the facts that Brdanin is seeking to be released in order to return to one of the very localities in which the crimes are alleged to have taken place, and that (as the prosecution has been ordered to provide unredacted statements of those witnesses not entitled to protective measures)46 he will know the identity of several witnesses, thus heightening his ability to exert pressure on victims and witnesses.47 The Trial Chamber does not accept that this heightened ability to interfere with victims and witnesses, by itself, suggests that he will pose a danger to them.48 It cannot just be assumed that everyone charged with a crime under the Tribunal’s Statute will, if released , pose a danger to victims or witnesses or others.49 Indeed, it is a strange logic employed by the prosecution – that, once it has complied with its obligation under Rule 66 to disclose to the accused the supporting material which accompanied the indictment and the statements of the witnesses it intends to call, the accused thereafter should not be granted provisional release because his mere ability to exert pressure upon them is heightened. The Trial Chamber does not accept that logic.

20. The prosecution also says that the mere fact that Brdanin will be free to contact the witnesses directly or indirectly “could easily affect their willingness to testify in this and other cases”.50 That, however, would not constitute the “danger” to which Rule 65(B) refers. The Trial Chamber does not accept that this mere possibility – that the willingness of witnesses to testify would be affected by an accused’s provisional release – would be a sufficient basis for refusing that provisional release were it otherwise satisfied that such accused will not pose a danger to the witnesses. If an applicant satisfies the Trial Chamber that he will not pose such a risk, it is for the prosecution to reassure its own witnesses; it would be manifestly unfair to such an applicant to keep him in detention because of a possible reaction by the prosecution’s witnesses to the mere fact that he has been granted provisional release. Insofar as the prosecution’s witnesses in other cases are concerned, the Trial Chamber repeats what it said in the Protective Measures Decision, that it is not easy to see how the rights of the accused in the particular case can properly be reduced to any significant extent because of the prosecution’s fear that it may have difficulties in finding witnesses who are willing to testify in other cases.51

21. In view of the unfavourable finding that the Trial Chamber is not satisfied by Brdanin that he will appear for his trial,52 it is unnecessary for a finding to be made as to whether, if released, Brdanin will pose a threat to any victim, witness or other person. It is, however, worth observing that the present case is, so far as the amended indictment presently discloses, in reality a case where the prosecution does not allege any particular proximity of Brdanin to the events which are alleged to have taken place, the real issue being the relationship between Brdanin and those persons who did the acts for which he is sought to be made responsible.53 The prosecution claims that those witnesses who directly implicate the accused as being responsible for those acts (either as having aided and abetted in them or as a superior) are those whose identity should be disclosed at a later rather than an earlier time.54 The application of that proposition in the present case is a matter which has yet to be resolved , but the timing of the disclosure of the identity of those witnesses could well be affected by whether the accused is in detention or not. The Trial Chamber does not propose to reject the application upon the basis that it is not satisfied by Brdanin that he will not pose a danger to anyone. It simply makes no finding upon that issue.

(d) Discretionary considerations

22. It is not in dispute that Rule 65(B), by the use of the word “may”, gives to the Trial Chamber a discretion as to whether release is ordered. But it should be clearly understood that, in general, it is a discretion to refuse the order notwithstanding that the applicant has established the two matters which that Rule identifies.55 It is not , in general, a discretion to grant the order notwithstanding that the applicant has failed to establish one or other of those two matters.56

23. Brdanin has demonstrated that his wife has financial difficulties as a result of his detention.57 He has also asserted that his pre-trial preparation will be greatly enhanced if he is on provisional release, because of the difficulties inherent in his incarceration in The Hague away from the place where the events to be investigated are alleged to have taken place.58 The Trial Chamber accepts that these are very real considerations to any accused. But they cannot permit a detained person to be released provisionally if the Trial Chamber is not satisfied that he will appear for trial.

24. Another matter raised by Brdanin in this case relates to the length of his pre -trial detention. He was arrested on 6 July 1999. A trial is unlikely before sometime early in 2001. It is not always clear from the decisions given before the amendment of Rule 65(B) whether the length of pre-trial detention has been considered as relevant to the issue of exceptional circumstances or the exercise of discretion, although it seems generally to have been treated as being relevant to the former. Brdanin has submitted that delays in the commencement of a trial, such as are presently being experienced in the Tribunal, are still a relevant factor to an application for provisional release,59 but he does not identify the issue to which they are said to be relevant. Nor has the prosecution identified how they may be relevant. Logically, pre-trial delays should still be relevant to the exercise of the Trial Chamber’s discretion, so that due regard may be had to Article 5(3) of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which guarantees the right of an accused person to a trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial, and other similar international norms to that effect.

25. Nevertheless, it is difficult to envisage likely circumstances where provisional release would be granted to an accused by reason of the likely length of his pre-trial detention where he has been unable to establish that he will appear for trial. In domestic jurisdictions, bail or other form of release would usually be granted where it is clear that the length of that pre-trial detention may well exceed the length of any sentence to be imposed upon conviction, but there are two reasons why such a course would be inapplicable in the Tribunal. First, as already referred to, 60 the Tribunal has no power to execute its own arrest warrant in the event that the applicant does not appear for trial, and it must rely upon local authorities within the former Yugoslavia or upon international bodies to effect arrests on its behalf. That is markedly different to the powers of a court granting release in a domestic jurisdiction. Secondly, the serious nature of the crimes charged in this Tribunal would be very unlikely to produce sentences of such a short duration.61

26. The prosecution has submitted that the likely period involved here (nineteen or twenty months) does not violate either the Statute of the Tribunal or “the recognised standards of international law”, and it has referred to two decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and of the European Human Rights Commission which have upheld longer periods of pre-trial detention as being reasonable within the meaning of Article 5(3).62 These decisions are often referred to by the prosecution in applications such as the present, but care should be taken that too great a reliance is not placed upon them as defining what is a reasonable length of pre-trial detention in an international criminal court or tribunal rather than in particular domestic jurisdictions in Europe.

27. What is a reasonable length of pre-trial detention must be interpreted, so far as this Tribunal is concerned, against the circumstances in which it has to operate . The Tribunal’s inability to execute arrest warrants upon persons in the former Yugoslavia to whom provisional release has been granted if they do not appear for trial has to be considered, and it is unnecessary to repeat what has already been said upon this subject. On the other hand, the period considered reasonable by the two European bodies, in their supervisory role, result to some extent from a degree of deference given by them to the practices of the particular national courts and legislature when considering matters such as the reasonableness of pre-trial detention periods in the different European domestic jurisdictions, recognising that the national authorities are better placed to assess local circumstances within those jurisdictions.63 The former consideration may lead to longer periods, and the latter may lead to shorter periods , being regarded as reasonable by the Tribunal.

28. Assuming (without needing to decide) that the length of pre-trial detention remains relevant to applications for provisional release since the amendment to Rule 65(B), the Trial Chamber is satisfied that the likely period of pre-trial detention in the present case does not exceed what is reasonable in this Tribunal. It is unfortunate that the limited resources possessed by the Tribunal do not permit an earlier trial for those in detention, and that a delay of even this length is necessary , but the likely period of pre-trial detention for Brdanin has not been demonstrated to be unreasonable.

5 Disposition

29. For the foregoing reasons, the application by Radoslav Brdanin for provisional release pending his trial is refused.

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

Dated this 25th day of July 2000,
At The Hague,
The Netherlands.

________________________
Judge David Hunt
Presiding Judge

[Seal of the Tribunal]


1- Motion for the Provisional Release of Radoslav Brdanin, 27 Apr 2000 (“Motion”), filed 28 Apr 2000.
2- Prosecution’s Response to “Motion for the Provisional Release of Radoslav Brdanin”, 9 May 2000 (“Response”).
3- Motion, p 7; Response, par 19.
4- Motion for Extension of Time, 25 May 2000, filed 26 May 2000.
5- Count 1, Article 4(3)(a) of the Tribunal’s Statute.
6- Count 2, Article 4(3)(e).
7- Count 3, Article 5(h).
8- Count 4, Article 5(b).
9- Count 8, Article 5(d).
10- Count 9, Article 5(i).
11- Count 6, Article 5(f).
12- Count 7, Article 2(b).
13- Count 5, Article 2(a).
14- Count 10, Article 2(d).
15- Count 11, Article 3(b).
16- Count 12, Article 3(d).
17- Amended Indictment, pars 6-7.
18- Ibid, par 16.
19- Ibid, pars 14, 19.
20- Decision on Motions by Momir Talic for a Separate Trial and for Leave to File a Reply, 9 Mar 2000, par 4.
21- Decision on Motion to Dismiss Indictment, 5 Oct 1999; Interlocutory Appeal dismissed: Decision on Interlocutory Appeal from Decision on Motion to Dismiss Indictment Filed Under Rule 72, 16 Nov 1999.
22- Decision on Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus on Behalf of Radoslav Brdanin, 8 Dec 1999; Leave to appeal refused and application for a Writ of Mandamus directed to the Trial Chamber rejected: Decision on Application for Leave to Appeal, 23 Dec 1999.
23- Personal Guarantee of Radoslav Brdanin, undated, pp 2-3.
24- Guaranty of the Government of the Republic of Srpska, 8 Mar 2000, pp 1-2.
25- Oral hearing, 20 July 2000, Transcript, pp 152-154.
26- Ibid, pp 154-156.
27- Ibid, p 156.
28- Ibid, pp 154-156.
29- Motion, par 7.
30- Transcript, p 161.
31- Transcript, p 162. See Prosecutor v Kvocka, Case IT-98-30-PT, Decision on Motion for Provisional Release of Miroslav Kvocka, 2 Feb 2000 (“Kvocka Decision”), at p 4. See also Prosecutor v Kordic, Case IT-95-14/2-T, Order on Application by Dario Kordic for Provisional Release Pursuant to Rule 65, 17 Dec 1999 (“Kordic Decision”), 17 Dec 1999, p 4; Prosecutor v Aleksovski, Case IT-995-14/1-A, Order Denying Provisional Release, 18 Feb 2000, p 2; Prosecutor v Simic, Case IT-95-9-PT, Decision on Miroslav Tadic’s Application for Provisional Release, 4 Apr 2000 (“Tadic Decision”), p 8; Prosecutor v Simic, Case IT-95-9-PT, Decision on Simo Zaric’s Application for Provisional Release, 4 Apr 2000 (“Zaric Decision”), p 8; Leave to appeal from the Tadic and Zaric Decisions refused, on the basis that error had not been shown: Prosecutor v Simic, Case IT-95-9-AR65, Decision on Application for Leave to Appeal, 19 Apr 2000 (“Tadic/Zaric Appeal Decision”), p 3; Prosecutor v Simic, Case IT-95-9-PT, Decision on Milan Simic’s Application for Provisional Release, 29 May 2000 (“Simic Decision”), p 5.
32- Kvocka Decision, p 4; Kordic Decision, p 4; Tadic Decision, p 8; Zaric Decision, p 7.
33- Transcript, pp 161, 164.
34- This is also apparent from the decisions cited in footnote 31.
35- Transcript, p 166.
36- Response, par 11; Transcript, p 163. See also Prosecutor v Kovacevic, Case IT-97-24-PT, Decision on Defence Motion for Provisional Release, 20 Jan 1998, par 27.
37- Amended Indictment, par 17.
38- See Rule 101(B)(ii).
39- The weight to be given to a guarantee by the Government of Republika Srpska may be different where it is not a high level indicted person who would have to be returned.
40- Tribunal’s Fourth Annual Report (1997), pars 183-187 (“Republika Srpska is clearly and blatantly refusing to meet the obligations that it undertook when it signed the Dayton Peace Agreement, by which it solemnly undertook to co-operate with the Tribunal”: par 187); Tribunal’s Fifth Annual Report (1998), pp 81-83 (although the present Prime Minister of Republika Srpska is reported, at par 216, to have urged indicted individuals to surrender to the Tribunal); Tribunal’s Sixth Annual Report (1999), par 106 (refusal of Republika Srpska to execute arrest warrants).
41- Response, par 12.
42- Ibid, par 14; Transcript, p 162.
43- Transcript, p 160.
44- Kordic Decision, p 4.
45- Tadic Decision, p 8; Zaric Decision, p 8; Leave to appeal refused on the basis that error had not been shown: Tadic/Zaric Appeal Decision, p 3; Simic Decision, p 6. Provisional release was refused in one case, despite the applicant’s surrender, in part because there was a dispute as to the circumstances in which the applicant had surrendered: Kordic Decision, p 5.
46- Decision on Motion by Prosecution for Protective Measures, 3 July 2000 (“Protective Measures Decision”), par 65.2.
47- Response, pars 15-16.
48- The Decision of the Trial Chamber in Prosecutor v Blaškic, Case IT-95-14-T, Decision Rejecting a Request for Provisional Release, 25 Apr 1996 (English version filed 1 May 1996), p 5, upon which the prosecution relies does not state anything to the contrary.
49- Prosecutor v Delalic, Case IT-96-21-T, Decision on Motion for Provisional Release Filed by the Accused Zejnil Delalic, 25 Sept 1996 (filed 1 Oct 1996), par 34.
50- Response, par 16.
51- Protective Measures Decision, pars 29-30.
52- Paragraph 18, supra.
53- cf Prosecutor v Krnojelac, Case IT-97-25-PT, Decision on Preliminary Motion on Form of Amended Indictment, 11 Feb 2000, par 18.
54- Protective Measures Decision, par 34.
55- See, for example, the Kordic Decision (p 4), where the Trial Chamber took into account in part in refusing the application the fact that it had been made during the trial, and if successful would have disrupted the remaining course of the hearing.
56- In Prosecutor v Djukic, Case IT-96-20-T, Decision Rejecting the Application to Withdraw the Indictment and Order for Provisional Release, 24 Apr 1996, at p 4, the Trial Chamber granted to the accused provisional release solely upon humanitarian grounds in the light of the extreme gravity of the accused’s medical condition, in that he was suffering from an incurable illness in its terminal phase.
57- Motion, pars 12-13; and see Section 3 of this Decision.
58- Motion, par 11.
59- Motion, par 10.
60- Paragraph 18, supra.
61- In Prosecutor v Aleksovski, Case IT-95-14/1-A, Judgment, 24 Mar 2000, at par 185, the Appeals Chamber stated that sentences of the Tribunal should make it plain that the international community is not ready to tolerate serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights. The Tribunal was established in order to prosecute persons responsible for such serious violations: Statute of the Tribunal, Article 1.
62- Response, par 9. The decision of the Commission referred to is Ventura v Italy, report of European Commission of Human Rights of 15 Dec 1980, Application 7438/76, Decisions and Reports, Vol 23, p 5, in which a period of five years, seven months and twentyseven days was considered (at par 194). The decision of the Court referred to is the “Neumeister” Case, judgment of 27 June 1968, Series A, Judgments and Decisions, Vol 8. The prosecution asserts that, in this case, the Court found a period of three years pre-trial detention “to be in conformity with the ECHR”: Response, par 9. That is not so. The relevant period considered by the Court was two years, two months and four days, and the finding of the Court was that Article 5(3) had been breached, as the length of the applicant’s pre-trial detention had ceased to be reasonable once it became evident that appropriate guarantees for the applicant’s return, if provisionally released, would meet the risk of absconding (pars 4, 6, 12, 15).
63- This degree of deference is explicitly recognised in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, as the “margin of appreciation”: Handyside Case, Series A, No 24, Judgment of 7 Dec 1976, at pars 48-49.

   

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