IN THE TRIAL CHAMBER
Case No.: IT-04-83-PT
Date: 8 November 2006
Before:
Judge Patrick Robinson, Presiding
Judge Krister Thelin
Judge Frank Höpfel
Registrar: Mr. Hans Holthuis
Decision of: 8 November 2006
PROSECUTOR
v.
RASIM DELIĆ
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DECISION REGARDING THE PROSECUTION MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE MEASURES AND DELAYED DISCLOSURE
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Office of the Prosecutor
Mr. Daryl Mundis
Ms. Tecla Henry-Benjamin
Counsel for the Accused
Mrs. Vasvija Vidović
Ms. Quincy Whitaker
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 ("Tribunal"); BEING SEISED of an ex parte and confidential "Prosecution Motion for Protective Measures and Delayed Disclosure" with Annex A, filed on 29 September 2006 ("Motion" and "Annex A"), seeking various protective measures for a witness identified in Annex A; NOTING WITH CONCERN that the Prosecution has chosen to file the entire Motion in a confidential and ex parte manner without providing any information that would allow the Trial Chamber to asses whether good cause exists for doing so and as a result, both the public and the Defence heretofore had no knowledge of the Motion; NOTINGthat Paragraph 2 of Article 21 of the Statute provides that the accused is "entitled to a fair and public hearing, subject to Article 22 of the Statute;" CONSIDERING that "it is in the interests of justice that any application be filed publicly but, if necessary and on good cause being demonstrated, it may be filed with confidential and/or ex parte annexes"; CONSIDERING the Trial Chamber’s view that the mere fact that the Prosecution is seeking delayed disclosure need not to be hidden from the public, and much less from the Defence; CONSIDERING THEREFORE that the Prosecution should re-file the motion publicly, with any sensitive information in a confidential annex and that due to the fact that some of the information of the witness may, at this point, warrant delayed disclosure to the Defence, the Prosecution may also make any such annex ex parte and should explain in its reapplication the reasons why the information must be maintained on a confidential and ex parte basis at the present time; PURSUANT TO Rule 54 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the Tribunal, HEREBY DISMISSES THE MOTION WITHOUT PREJUDICE.
_____________________________
Judge Patrick Robinson
Presiding
Dated this eighth day of November 2006
At The Hague
The Netherlands
[ Seal of the Tribunal]