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

 

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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.

 

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

_____________________________

Judge Patrick Robinson

Presiding

Dated this eighth day of November 2006

At The Hague

The Netherlands

 

 

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