Case No.: IT-97-24-PT

IN THE TRIAL CHAMBER

Before:
Judge Wolfgang Schomburg, Presiding
Judge Florence Mumba
Judge Carmel Agius

Registrar:
Mr. Hans Holthuis

Order of:
29 January 2002

PROSECUTOR

v.

MILOMIR STAKIC

_________________________________________________________

ORDER ON PROSECUTION’S MOTION FOR PARTICULAR PROTECTIVE MEASURES

__________________________________________________________

The Office of the Prosecutor:

Ms. Joanna Korner
Ms. Susan Somers
Mr. Nicolas Koumjian

Counsel for the Accused:

Mr. Branko Lukic
Mr. John Ostojic

 

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 SEIZED OF the "Prosecution’s Motion for Particular Protective Measures" filed confidentially by the Office of the Prosecutor ("Prosecution") on 11 January 2002 ("Motion") pursuant to Articles 20 and 22 of the Statute of the International Tribunal and Rules 69, 75, and 79 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Tribunal ("Rules"), wherein the Prosecution seeks both specific protective measures for certain witnesses, who will come and testify in court before the International Tribunal, for the purposes of protecting the safety of the witnesses at their requests, and permission of Trial Chamber II to authorise the release of the testimony of such witnesses to be given under the requested protective measures into related cases pending before the International Tribunal;

NOTING that the Defence has not filed any response by 25 January 2002;

CONSIDERING that the parties were reminded of this matter at the status conference held on 18 January 2002;

RECALLING the "Order on Prosecution’s Motion concerning 10 December 2001 Decision on Protective Measures" issued by the pre-trial Judge on 10 January 2002 ("Order of 10 January 2002");

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;

CONSIDERING that Rule 69 of the Rules does not apply to the requests as contained in the Motion;

PURSUANT TO Rules 75 and 79 of the Rules,

HEREBY EXTENDS to the Motion the protective measures indicated in the Order of 10 January 2002, as appropriate, and GRANTS the protective measures as requested in the Motion to the extent that:

1) the Trial Chamber shall assign pseudonyms to the witnesses identified in paragraphs 7 and 9 of the Motion;

2) the pseudonyms assigned by the Trial Chamber shall be used throughout the course of the trial in the present matter as well as in other proceedings before the International Tribunal if the testimony of the witnesses bearing the pseudonyms is disclosed into those proceedings;

3) the witnesses identified in paragraph 7 of the Motion shall each testify with a pseudonym, image distortion, and/or voice distortion, as appropriate;

4) the witnesses identified in paragraph 9 of the Motion shall each testify in closed session with a pseudonym;

5) the Defence shall maintain a log of persons who, for the purposes of preparing and presenting this case, receive from the Defence any information regarding the witnesses identified in paragraphs 7 and 9 of the Motion, but such information shall in no circumstance include the names, addresses, or whereabouts or other identifying data of those witnesses;

6) in addition to, and in connection with, the measure indicated in Order 5), above, the Defence shall cause any person who receives the information in question to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement, the format of which is set out in Appendix A of the Motion, and the Trial Chamber shall be informed regularly of such agreements;

7) all hearings to consider the issue of protective measures for the witnesses identified in paragraphs 7 and 9 of the Motion shall be in closed session;

8) the names, addresses, whereabouts or other identifying data of the witnesses identified in paragraphs 7 and 9 of the Motion shall remain sealed from the date of issuance of this order and be expunged from existing public documents of the International Tribunal if they are still there;

9) if a member of the Defence team withdraws from the case, all materials he or she obtains through the Prosecution disclosure process shall be returned to the Lead Counsel;

10) the public and media shall not photograph, video-record or sketch the witnesses identified in paragraphs 7 and 9 of the Motion while they are on the premises of the International Tribunal;

11) any Rule 92bis statements of the witnesses identified in paragraphs 7 and 9 of the Motion shall be kept confidential;

12) the Prosecution is authorised to release the testimony as well as the identities of the witnesses identified in paragraphs 7 and 9 of the Motion to other Trial Chambers in related cases pending before the International Tribunal; and

13) in the course of implementing Order 12), above, the same degree of protection as specified in this order, or a lesser degree of protection to which a witness expressly consents, shall be sought by the Prosecution from the relevant Trial Chambers in related cases. This order does not, however, affect the exercise of powers by those Trial Chambers to balance the rights of the accused with the protection of victims and witnesses in the light of the prevailing circumstances of the cases before them.

 

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

________________
Wolfgang Schomburg
Presiding Judge

Dated this twenty-ninth day of January 2002
At The Hague,
The Netherlands

[Seal of the Tribunal]

   

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