Prosecutors opened their case against Milosevic on February 12, 2002, three years after he was first indicted for war crimes.
Since then, wrangling over the accused’s right to defend himself in court and an apparent decline in his health has caused a series of delays. 2004 saw the death of Judge Richard May, who had overseen the trial from the start.
But the case does now appear to be finally drawing to a close. A recent report by the court’s acting senior legal officer, Gideon Boas, revealed that Milosevic has now used up over 80 per cent of the time allotted to his defence.
If there are no further delays, he is expected to finish presenting evidence next month. After the rebuttal and rejoinder stages, the trial would likely finish in the middle of this year. The judges would then retire to reach a verdict.
In the meantime, judges are still considering a request by Milosevic to be granted provisional release in order to receive medical treatment in Moscow.
Since then, wrangling over the accused’s right to defend himself in court and an apparent decline in his health has caused a series of delays. 2004 saw the death of Judge Richard May, who had overseen the trial from the start.
But the case does now appear to be finally drawing to a close. A recent report by the court’s acting senior legal officer, Gideon Boas, revealed that Milosevic has now used up over 80 per cent of the time allotted to his defence.
If there are no further delays, he is expected to finish presenting evidence next month. After the rebuttal and rejoinder stages, the trial would likely finish in the middle of this year. The judges would then retire to reach a verdict.
In the meantime, judges are still considering a request by Milosevic to be granted provisional release in order to receive medical treatment in Moscow.
