Judges have thrown out a prosecution request for plans to be made to allow proceedings against former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic to continue on days when he is too ill to attend court.
Milosevic acts as his own lawyer despite suffering from high blood pressure, a problem which necessitates his trial sitting for just three hearings a week. A number of scheduled hearings were cancelled towards the end of last year after he said he felt too unwell to continue.
Prosecutor Geoffrey Nice suggested in a January 16 submission that Milosevic might be manipulating the issue of his health in order to obstruct the trial. He argued that, with a number of safeguards in place, court-assigned lawyers could take over the examination of witnesses if he is absent in future.
In order to facilitate this process, Nice also wanted the accused to be ordered to cooperate with his assigned counsel, who he has in the past refused even to communicate with.
In his written response, published on January 20, Presiding Judge Patrick Robinson said the prosecutor’s arguments on the matter were “hypothetical and premature” and noted that the trial chamber was “well aware” of the issues in question and “well placed to deal with [them] if they arise”.
Judge Robinson further criticised Nice’s submission for being “prolix and in parts repetitive” and more than three times the permitted length.
Milosevic acts as his own lawyer despite suffering from high blood pressure, a problem which necessitates his trial sitting for just three hearings a week. A number of scheduled hearings were cancelled towards the end of last year after he said he felt too unwell to continue.
Prosecutor Geoffrey Nice suggested in a January 16 submission that Milosevic might be manipulating the issue of his health in order to obstruct the trial. He argued that, with a number of safeguards in place, court-assigned lawyers could take over the examination of witnesses if he is absent in future.
In order to facilitate this process, Nice also wanted the accused to be ordered to cooperate with his assigned counsel, who he has in the past refused even to communicate with.
In his written response, published on January 20, Presiding Judge Patrick Robinson said the prosecutor’s arguments on the matter were “hypothetical and premature” and noted that the trial chamber was “well aware” of the issues in question and “well placed to deal with [them] if they arise”.
Judge Robinson further criticised Nice’s submission for being “prolix and in parts repetitive” and more than three times the permitted length.
