⁹⁵⁴⁶ Tuesday, 30 November 2010

(Open session)

[The accused entered court]

--- Upon commencing at 2.19 p.m.

JUDGE ORIE: Good afternoon to everyone in and around the courtroom. Madam Registrar, would you please call the case.

THE REGISTRAR: Good afternoon, Your Honours. Good afternoon to everyone in and around the courtroom. This is case number IT-03-69-T. The Prosecutor versus Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic.

JUDGE ORIE: Thank you, Madam Registrar. We'll, in order to continue the cross-examination of the present witness, we'll move into closed session.

(Closed session)

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(Open session)

THE REGISTRAR: We are in open session, Your Honours.

JUDGE ORIE: Thank you, Madam Registrar. I would first like to deliver a statement on behalf of the Chamber.

This is the Chamber's statement with regard to the contemporaneous notes of witness Miomir Kovacevic who gave evidence in this case on the 27th of August, 2009, and appeared again before the Chamber on the 27th of August, and the 1st and 2nd of September 2010 for cross-examination. During his cross-examination on the 1st of September, ⁹⁶²² 2010, the witness referred to contemporaneous notes prepared by him which he kept at home and which allegedly corroborated his evidence. The Stanisic Defence requested that the witness provide the Chamber with these contemporaneous notes and the witness indicated on both the 1st and the 2nd of September, that he was willing to do so. This can be found at transcript pages 6745 to -47, and also at transcript pages 6824 to -25.

It is the position of the Stanisic case that the witness has fabricated the existence of the contemporaneous notes and that in reality they do not exist. In this respect, the Chamber refers to transcript 6761. As the parties are aware, since the time of the witness's testimony, the Chamber with the assistance of the Victims and Witness Section has made all possible efforts to obtain the notes from the witness. However, to date, the witness has failed to provide them. The Chamber considers that the course of events since the witness's testimony may well be interpreted as an indication that the notes do not exist. Under these circumstances, the Chamber has decided that it will not pursue the matter further. The Chamber will evaluate the testimony of the witness without the benefit of the notes but also against the background of the witness's failure to provide them. If the parties would like to comment on this, they have an opportunity to do so, but not today. Mr. Jordash.

MR. JORDASH: Can I raise very quickly another point which would expedite things tomorrow.

JUDGE ORIE: Yes. ⁹⁶²³

MR. JORDASH: I don't wish to comment on your -- the Chamber's statement. Thank you.

JUDGE ORIE: Yes.

MR. JORDASH: The -- perhaps we can go into closed session, if that's with Your Honours' leave.

JUDGE ORIE: Yes. If the Chamber doesn't hear what you want to say now, would there be other ways of expediting.

MR. JORDASH: There isn't a way to deal with this without an order from the Chamber.

JUDGE ORIE: Okay.

MR. JORDASH: I do apologise.

JUDGE ORIE: I'm desperately looking at our interpreters, I'm trying to do my best again and again to finish on time. We move into closed session. Mr. Jordash, raise the issue if you can within 30 to 60 seconds.

MR. JORDASH: I shall.

(Closed session)

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(Open session)

THE REGISTRAR: We are in open session, Your Honours.

JUDGE ORIE: Thank you, Madam Registrar. First of all, the Chamber confirms the housekeeping session to be held on Friday the 10th, so we are not moving to another date and we are trying to fill those other dates with hearing of evidence, rather than, well, I wouldn't say waste those days but at least use them now in a different way compared to what we intended to do, though it remains Friday the 10th. And the Chamber would like to hear the final position of the Simatovic Defence on the Orthodox Christmas scheduling where the Chamber was suggesting that perhaps sitting on Monday the 10th, Tuesday the 11th and Wednesday the 12th might accommodate. We'll hear from you or you'll send an e-mail to Chambers staff. We stand adjourned and again with apologies to interpreters, we will resume tomorrow the 1st of December at quarter past 2.00 in this same courtroom, Courtroom II.

--- Whereupon the hearing adjourned at 7.07 p.m. to be reconvened on Wednesday, the 1st day of

December, 2010, at 2.15 p.m.