Goran Hadzic in the courtroom

Goran Hadzic’s defense has asked the judges to order that the proceedings against Hadzic be either terminated or stayed. Hadzic was the prime minister of the SAO of Eastern Slavonia for a while and was later appointed president of the Republic of Serb Krajina. Hadzic has an incurable brain tumor and doesn’t have much time left to live, according to the latest estimates.

The confidential report filed by the ICTY registrar on 8 June 2015 contains more specifics about Hadzic’s condition. The accused’s life expectancy was estimated at six to eight months, based on the data available for patients with a similar diagnosis. After the latest examination, his prognosis turned out to be much worse. The medical report the defense refers to in its motion notes that Hadzic has decided not to undergo experimental treatment for his brain tumor – most probably because of the side effects of the medication he had taken previously.

In today’s urgent motion the defense notes that ‘no reasonable prospect remains’ for Hadzic’s trial to be completed since there is "no chance of recovery". Continuing proceedingsserves no legitimate purpose and is ‘a waste of public resources’, the defense noted. The defense also stresses that the possibility that the trial might "re-start at any moment" causes Hadzic "anxiety". This option contradicts Hadzic’s right to the presumption of innocence, the defense argues.

The defense refers to the jurisprudence of the Tribunal and national courts, noting that Hadzic’s return to the detention unit would be unfair and would violate his basic human rights, given his prognosis. Defense counsels Zoran Zivanovic and Christopher Gosnell conclude that ‘separating Hadzic from his family in the remaining days of his life on the basis of proceedings that cannot reach a conclusion would violate basic human decency".

Hadzic’s trial was interrupted at the beginning of the defense case in October 2014. The accused is charged with crimes against humanity and violations of laws and customs of war in Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srem from June 1991 to the end of 1993.

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