Burton Hall, judge

• The Mechanism for

  International Criminal Tribunals today discussed the preparations

  for the retrial of the two former Serbian State Security chiefs,

  Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic. The hearing was held in the

  absence of the accused. After they pleaded not guilty last

  December, Stanisic and Simatovic were granted provisional release

  and were not obliged to appear in the courtroom.

  The hearing focused on when the retrial should begin. As

  prosecutor Mathias Marcussen explained, the prosecution is unable

  at this time to specify how much time they need to prepare the pre-

  trial brief as they have not yet been given approval for the

  additional staff to form a trial team. The pre-trial brief could

  ‘tentatively’ be completed by the beginning of the summer recess.

  If so, the trial could commence in October 2016.

  Stanisic’s and Simatovic’s lawyers are at odds with the prosecution

  on this issue. According to Wayne Jordash, Stanisic’s defense

  counsel, the defense would need ‘at least six months’ from the time

  when the prosecution submits its pre-trial brief to the opening of

  the trial. Stanisic’s defense would ‘prefer if the trial could start in

  February or March 2017’.

  Simatovic’s defense counsel Vladimir Petrovic shares Jordash’s

  view. As Petrovic noted, since the end of the first trial of the

  former Serbian State Security chiefs ‘thousands’ of exhibits

  relevant for the crime base in the Stanisic and Simatovic case have

  been admitted at the trials of Karadzic, Mladic and Hadzic as well

  as in other trials in domestic courts in Bosnia and Serbia. Stanisic’s

  and Simatovic’s lawyers now have to examine the evidence,

  Petrovic said and therefore ‘a year from now is a realistic time

  frame to prepare for the trial’.

  Stanisic’s defense counsel reacted to the prosecutor’s remark about

  Stanisic’s current health condition ‘militating in favor of an early

  re-trial’. Whether or not the health of the accused is going to

  influence the expeditiousness of trial remains uncertain, the

  defense counsel noted; it will depend on specialists’ medical
• reports and judges’ decisions. If the Trial Chamber decides that the

  trial could begin in one month’s time, the defense counsel

  cautioned, that could be ‘stressful’ for Stanisic and have a negative

  impact on his health. Stanisic’s defense counsel also indicated that

  the defense would insist on an evaluation of Stanisic’s ‘fitness for

  trial’. If Stanisic is found to be fit to stand trial, the defense will

  ask the judges to allow him to follow the trial from Belgrade.

  The pre-trial judge Burton Hall urged the parties to meet as soon as

  possible and try to reach an agreement on non-controversial facts.

  The judge warned the parties to ‘avoid coasting in the case’: they

  should use the available time to prepare for the trial as best they

  can. Concluding the hearing, the judge thanked the parties for the

  ‘exchange of views which tempt one to make several comments’,

  adding that he decided to keep it at that.

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