Case No.: IT-97-24-PT

I, Wolfgang Schomburg, Judge 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"),

HAVING BEEN DESIGNATED pre-trial Judge in the present matter by the "Order Appointing a Pre-Trial Judge" issued by Trial Chamber II of the International Tribunal on 28 November 2001,

BEING SEIZED OF the "Prosecution’s Motion concerning 10 December 2001 Decision on Protective Measures" filed by the Office of the Prosecutor ("Prosecution") on 19 December 2001 ("Motion II"), wherein the Prosecution seeks an extension of time till 16 January 2002 in respect of the filing of a fresh motion for protective measures for particular witnesses in the present proceedings and the disclosure of unredacted witness statements pursuant to Rule 66 (A) (i) and (ii) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence ("Rules"), and seeks an order in respect of certain restrictions on disclosure of witness statements as requested in the "Prosecution’s Motion for Proposed Protective Order and Measures to Protect Victims and Witnesses", filed confidentially on 23 October 2001 ("Motion I");

NOTING further the request in Motion II for clarification of the "Order on Prosecution’s Motion for Proposed Protective Order and Measures to Protect Victims and Witnesses" issued by the Pre-Trial Judge on 10 December 2001 ("Order");

CONSIDERING the exchanges between the parties made during a meeting held on 8 January 2002 pursuant to Rule 65ter of the Rules;

NOTING that the Defence has filed no response to Motion II but instead intended, as it indicated at the meeting of 8 January 2002, to rely on its "Motion Objecting to the Order on Prosecution’s Motion for Proposed Protective Order and Measures to Protect Victims and Witnesses", filed 29 October 2001, which objects both to the period of time in respect of disclosure as proposed by the Prosecution and to the redaction of any written statement or testimony of any witness without giving reasons or without the approval of this Trial Chamber;

NOTING that the Defence Motion of 29 October 2001 did not address the issue of non-disclosure raised by Motion I except that it objected to making contact with Prosecution witnesses through the intermediary of the Prosecution;

CONSIDERING that Motion II has repeated the request for a general, non-disclosure order as contained in Motion I, in addition to other specific measures aimed at the protection of witnesses and victims;

BEARING IN MIND the obligation imposed by Article 20 (1) of the Statute of the International Tribunal and the provision of Article 22 of the same Statute;

PURSUANT TO Rules 65ter and 75 of the Rules,

HEREBY GRANT Motion II to the extent that the disclosure pursuant to Rule 66 be completed not later than 16 January 2002, and CONFIRM my previous oral order that any fresh motion for protective measures in respect of particular witnesses be filed not later than 11 January 2002, which was also agreed at the Rule 65ter meeting of 8 January 2002, with the Defence being entitled to making a response thereto within 14 days of the filing of such motion,

DETERMINE that the expression "all prior witness statements" used in the Order should be read as "all prior statements obtained by the Prosecutor from the accused" as used in Rule 66 (A) (i) of the Rules,

AND FURTHER ORDER, as requested by Motion II, that:

1. the "Prosecutor" or "Prosecution" mean and include only the Prosecutor of the International Tribunal and her staff;

2. the "Defence" or "Stakic Defence" mean and include only the accused Milomir Stakic and his counsel, legal assistants and other members of the Defence team;

3. "the public" mean and include all persons, governments, organisations, entities, clients, associations and groups, other than the Judges of the International Tribunal, the staff of the Registry, the Prosecutor, and the accused and his Defence team and also include, without limitation, families, friends, and associates of the accused; the accused and defence counsel in other cases or proceedings before the International Tribunal; the media; and journalists;

4. except as is directly and specifically necessary for the preparation and presentation of this case, the Prosecution and the Stakic Defence shall not disclose to the public the following:

a) the names, identifying information or whereabouts of any witness, potential witness, or relatives of a witness or potential witness identified to Stakic Defence by the Prosecution until such time as the witness testifies in open session, subject to further protective measures indicated during such session;
b) any evidence (including documentary, physical and other evidence) or any written statement of a witness or potential witness, or the substance, in whole or part, of any such evidence or statement that has not already been made public, except such as has been presented in the course of public trial and other public proceedings before the International Tribunal where no further protective measures were imposed; and
c) the non-public or otherwise protected testimony of a witness or potential witness identified or listed by the Prosecution, or of a person whose written statement(s) has been disclosed by the Prosecution, provided that a person may review his or her own written statement(s) or testimony and such other documentary or physical evidence which is directly related to or included in his or her statement or testimony, and that to the extent reasonably necessary to his or her work, an expert witness may review the statements and testimony of other persons, as well as other evidence;

5. the Prosecution and the Stakic Defence shall not show to any witness or potential witness in the present case the testimony or statement of another witness or potential witness of the present case or any other case, but this is without prejudice to the provision of Order 4 c) as set forth above;

6. if the Stakic Defence is able to link any witness or potential witness in the present case to a pseudonym imposed in other cases before the International Tribunal, it shall not in whatever circumstance disclose the pseudonym or the fact that the witness or potential witness has previously testified before the International Tribunal;

7. if the parties disclose any information regarding a witness or potential witness, who is subject to the protection of this order, for the purpose of preparation and presentation of this case, they shall cause the recipient of such information not to reproduce, copy or publicise such information and to return copies of documents containing such information to the parties when it is no longer necessary for the preparation and presentation of the present case;

8. the Stakic Defence may contact a Prosecution witness only after the Prosecution has been informed and subsequently secured the consent of the witness to such contact;

9. subject to the provision of the preceding Order 8, no contact with Prosecution witnesses or potential witnesses or their relatives may be made by the families, friends or associates of the accused other than his Defence team; and

10. subject to the provision of the preceding Order 8, any member of the Stakic Defence to contact Prosecution witnesses or potential witnesses or their relatives must identify him or her self as working for the Defence.

 

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

________________
Wolfgang Schomburg
Pre-Trial Judge

Dated this tenth day of January 2002
At The Hague,
The Netherlands

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