Milosevic Transcript 2003-01-13

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Monday, 13 January 2003

[Open session]

[The accused not present]

--- Upon commencing at 8.56 a.m.

JUDGE MAY: Mr. Nice, the accused is not in Court. We have just had word from the Detention Unit that he has a fever. The doctor has been called. That being so, we cannot sit today.

If there are any matters you have in mind that we could deal with without him, we'll consider them, but it would seem probable that there are aren't any.

MR. NICE: No, Your Honour, the same problem arises. But before I come to that, first of all, Miss Bibles sits me with me today - she's a lawyer on the team - and has been assisting with the witness who I was going to be calling next but will not now be calling until later this week.

Returning to Your Honour's question, of course the existence of transcripts immediately accessible to the accused do, in certain circumstances, enable us to raise certain issues, but I don't think there's anything very much we can do today, although there is one matter I was going to draw to your attention and I will do so, arising from something that happened last week.

The Court will remember the witness K-2, who was a protected witness. Perhaps I can just deal with this in closed session, just the detail.

[Private session] ¹⁴⁸²⁸ Page 14828 - redacted - private session

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[redacted]

[Open session]

THE REGISTRAR: We're in open session.

MR. NICE: Your Honour, I don't know what the effect of any prolonged absence of the accused will have on the witness list. We've got a range of witnesses here this week of different types, including one former ambassador who has been here some time and is giving very detailed evidence but witnesses of other types who have been here periods of time as well. I could foresee the need to re-order witnesses if their personal ¹⁴⁸³⁰ circumstances make a prolonged stay here undesirable or impossible. We will keep you posted, the accused and the amici, as soon as any change in the order is desired.

It had already become apparent to us that as a result of problems, not least problems with getting effective waivers, we might have to introduce out of order witnesses who really belong to a later part of the trial, Bosnian witnesses. Whether the ill health of the accused will make that an avoidable necessity, as it would have been, I don't know. We'll do our best.

I don't think I can help further at this stage. Oh, perhaps this: The argument about the financial expert, Morten Torkildsen, has been pending for some time and we've always put it back, I think quite rightly, in the interests of having witnesses heard once they're here and using that as an argument that can fill a gap when a gap would arise. We're going to serve, to assist the Chamber, a written response to the amici's latest document. I hope that will be with you by today or more probably tomorrow, and I would ask that once that's in, the Chamber may consider inviting all parties to be ready pretty well at a moment's notice to take that as an argument so it can save us from wasting of time.

[Trial Chamber confers]

JUDGE MAY: We'll go back into private session.

[Private session]

[redacted]

[redacted] (redacted) ¹⁴⁸³¹ Pages 14831- - redacted - private session

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[redacted]

[Open session]

THE REGISTRAR: We're in open session.

JUDGE MAY: Mr. Nice, it appears there's nothing we can do more in this session. We will obtain a report, either written or oral, from the doctor when he's seen the accused, and we will then decide about future ¹⁴⁸³⁶ sittings this week.

MR. NICE: Thank you.

JUDGE MAY: The Court will adjourn.

--- Whereupon the hearing adjourned at 9.17 a.m., to be reconvened on Tuesday, the 14th day of

January, 2003, at 9.00 a.m.