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1 Monday, 13 March 2006
2 [Status Conference]
3 [Open session]
4 [The appellant Blagojevic entered court]
5 [The appellant Jokic not present]
6 --- Upon commencing at 9.01 a.m.
7 JUDGE SHAHABUDDEEN: Good morning. Mr. Registrar, will you please
8 call the case.
9 THE REGISTRAR: Thank you, Your Honour. Good morning. This is
10 case number IT-02-60-A, the Prosecutor versus Vidoje Blagojevic and Dragan
11 Jokic.
12 JUDGE SHAHABUDDEEN: This is a Status Conference at the appeals
13 stage in the case of Prosecution against Blagojevic and Jokic. I would
14 like to begin by ensuring that the audio equipment is functioning. Can
15 you all hear me?
16 MR. DOMAZET: [Interpretation] Yes, Your Honour.
17 MR. SHIN: Yes, Your Honour, we can hear you.
18 JUDGE SHAHABUDDEEN: Mr. Blagojevic, can you hear me in a language
19 you understand?
20 THE APPELLANT BLAGOJEVIC: [Interpretation] [No interpretation].
21 JUDGE SHAHABUDDEEN: Next I would like to call for the
22 appearances. Mr. Blagojevic, you would be represented by Mr. Domazet?
23 MR. DOMAZET: Yes, Your Honour. I'm counsel for Mr. Blagojevic.
24 JUDGE SHAHABUDDEEN: And the Prosecution?
25 MR. SHIN: Good morning, Your Honour. Milbert Shin appearing on
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1 behalf of the Prosecution together with co-counsel Mr. Matteo Costi and
2 our case manager, Ms. Galicia.
3 JUDGE SHAHABUDDEEN: Mr. Shin. Thank you very much.
4 As you are aware, Rule 65 bis of the Rules of Procedure and
5 Evidence requires that a Status Conference be held for each appellant in
6 the Tribunal's custody at intervals no greater than 120 days. The last
7 Status Conference in this case was held on 23 September 2005.
8 Mr. Blagojevic waived the application of the 120-day rule so as to
9 accommodate several recent delays in the holding of this Status
10 Conference. We shall thank him, as well as counsel for both parties for
11 their understanding of certain problems that have made scheduling
12 particularly difficult in this case.
13 May I please ask the registrar to go to closed session so that I
14 may address the parties concerning a confidential matter.
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9 [Open session]
10 THE REGISTRAR: We're now in open session.
11 JUDGE SHAHABUDDEEN: We're now in open session. Yes.
12 Well, Mr. Blagojevic, I -- the Court is -- appreciates your -- you
13 may --
14 THE APPELLANT BLAGOJEVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour. Your
15 Honour, I spoke in vain if we were in closed session. I kindly ask you to
16 give me an opportunity to address the Court once again in a transparent
17 and public manner. I do not want to speak in closed session. If this was
18 in closed session, then I was speaking in vain, and I wish to repeat
19 everything that I said in an open session.
20 JUDGE SHAHABUDDEEN: Yes, certainly. You may repeat it in open
21 session. You appreciate the problems we had a while ago and why we -- why
22 you spoke in closed session when you intended to speak in an open session.
23 Yes, Mr. Blagojevic.
24 THE APPELLANT BLAGOJEVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I believe
25 we are in public session now. Thank you.
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1 I'm now going to repeat what I said. My health condition is not
2 good. I have had adequate therapy for quite some time, but the reason my
3 health is not well is because the ordeal that I suffered at the time of my
4 arrest. I have already spoken about the matter here before the Court, but
5 the matter has been, to a certain extent, concealed. I wish to rectify
6 this because I think this should be publicly known and cannot be ignored.
7 Second, before this Court I have been charged with the criminal
8 offence of fraud. Since the matter has not been resolved yet, I would
9 like this issue, this matter, to be resolved as soon as possible, because
10 the name of my family and my name has been stained with this charge.
11 In connection with that, I request that the public and redacted
12 version of the decision of the Appeals Chamber from July 2003 be published
13 in full, because the decision only conceals the criminal activity of the
14 deposed counsel and several other individuals.
15 I am now addressing the matter only briefly, in essence. However,
16 should you give me an opportunity to address the Court in full detail
17 regarding this matter and regarding the behaviour of the dismissed
18 counsel, Mr. Karnavas, I will be happy to do that.
19 Thirdly, in this way, my case would be transparent and public,
20 which is what I want and which has so far not been the case. I hope that
21 this Court will resolve the matter in the interest of justice.
22 Thank you.
23 JUDGE SHAHABUDDEEN: Yes. Do sit down, Mr. Blagojevic.
24 Well, I'm concerned to hear from you that you are not so well. On
25 the other hand, I am relieved to hear you say that you are receiving
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1 adequate therapy. For the rest on that matter, I can only ask the
2 Registrar to monitor your situation and to see that you continue receiving
3 the kind of medical attention which is due to you.
4 Now, as for the reasons for delay, I see that the judgement in
5 this matter was delivered on 17 January 2005. The briefing in the
6 appeal -- the appeal was then filed on 31 May 2005. That is an appeal by
7 you. And then the appeal procedures were concluded by your filing of a
8 reply on 28 December 2005. That is two, three months ago. And so that I
9 do not find that there is any appreciable delay, certainly not on the part
10 of the Court.
11 As to any delays in the hearing of this Status Conference, you are
12 aware of the reasons, as well as I do. They have to do with requests
13 which were made for a postponement of the Status Conference which both
14 sides agreed. Then latterly, a request for the change of counsel in the
15 case of your co-appellant. Now, I do not find any particular delay.
16 So far as the publicity of proceedings is concerned, my impression
17 is that all the proceedings of the court are held in public. The only
18 exceptions are proceedings which are held in closed session for good
19 reason, which would have been clear to all parties, and so there again I
20 don't quite understand the reference which you have made to a decision of
21 the Appeals Chamber which was not publicised. I think you refer to a
22 decision of the Appeals Chamber of July 2003.
23 All these decisions are publicised which certain exceptions which
24 are well known to you, and so I do not find any great substance in your
25 observation. If there is a proceeding which by chance has not been the
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1 subject of the normal publicity afforded by the Tribunal, well of course
2 we will rectify that, and I will ask the registrar to look into that.
3 Mr. Registrar, reference has been made to a decision of the
4 Appeals Chamber of July this last year, which was not released.
5 THE REGISTRAR: Your Honour, I'll look into this matter and report
6 to the Chamber as soon as possible at the conclusion of the session.
7 JUDGE SHAHABUDDEEN: Mr. Blagojevic, that seems to me as far as I
8 can take the matter now. I must await the report of the registrar on that
9 affair.
10 Now, are there any other problems? I think I would have concluded
11 the hearing by observing that the appeals procedures have now run their
12 course. You have filed your appeal brief on 10th of October, 2005. The
13 Prosecution's consolidated response brief was filed on 16 December 2005,
14 and your brief in reply was filed, as I have said, on 28 December 2005.
15 I should not refer to Mr. Jokic's case for the reasons which were
16 mentioned in closed session today.
17 So if there are no further questions or observations, gentlemen, I
18 would bring these proceedings to an end and say thank you very much.
19 --- Whereupon the Status Conference
20 adjourned at 9.30 a.m.
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