Case No. IT-98-30/1-A
Prosecutor v. Kvocka and Others
DECISION
THE REGISTRAR,
CONSIDERING the Statute of the Tribunal as adopted by the Security Council under Resolution 827 (1993), and in particular Article 21 thereof;
CONSIDERING the Rules of Procedure and Evidence as adopted by the Tribunal on 11 February 1994, as subsequently amended, and in particular Rules 44 and 45 thereof;
CONSIDERING the Directive on Assignment of Defence Counsel (hereinafter "the Directive") as adopted by the Tribunal on 28 July 1994, as subsequently amended, and in particular Articles 6, 8, 10, 11(A)(ii) and 18(A)(i);
NOTING the declaration of means of Mr. Zoran Zigic (hereinafter "the accused") dated 16 April 1998 in which the accused declared that he was not employed, does not receive any family allowances or social benefits, and does not own any movable or immovable property;
CONSIDERING that after examining the declaration of means of the accused, the Registrar determined on 28 April 1998 that the accused fulfilled the requirements for assignment of counsel as foreseen by the Directive (IT/73 Rev.7);
NOTING the decision of the Registrar dated 28 April 1998, assigning Mr. Simo Tosic, attorney at law from Banja Luka, as counsel to the accused in the interests of justice;
NOTING the decision of the Registrar dated 15 February 2000, assigning Mr. Slobodan Stojanovic, attorney at law from Belgrade, as co-counsel to the accused, on the basis of Article 16(C) of the Directive (IT/73 Rev. 7);
NOTING the decision of the Registrar dated 21 August 2000 reassigning Mr. Tosic as co-counsel, and Mr. Slobodan Stojanovic as lead counsel upon the request of the accused who stated that he was not satisfied with the quality of work of Mr. Tosic in his capacity as lead counsel;
NOTING that for the above-mentioned reason, and following a further request from the lead counsel supported by the accused, on 21 August 2001, the Registrar decided to replace Mr. Tosic with Mr. Miodrag Deretic, attorney at law from Prijedor, as co-counsel to the accused;
NOTING that for the purpose of assisting the counsel with the defence of the accused, the Registrar has appointed since 28 April 1998 a total of eight staff members as legal assistants or investigators in accordance with the legal aid system of the International Tribunal;
NOTING that since 28 April 1998, for the purposes of an effective representation of the accused, substantial travel expenses have been authorized for the defence of the accused;
NOTING that the total costs of the defence of the accused including fees have accumulated to the sum of approximately US$ 1,425,683.37 since 28 April 1998;
CONSIDERING that the Directive foresees that the Registrar may withdraw the assignment of counsel or his partial remuneration and/or expenses if information establishing that the accused has sufficient means to pay for his defence has been obtained by the Registry;
CONSIDERING that according to the evidence obtained by the Registry, the accused, his family, and the persons with whom he usually resides freely dispose of movable and immovable properties which were acquired after 28 April 1998;
CONSIDERING that the lawfully obtained documentation contained in the Annex to this decision demonstrates that since 16 April 1998, the accused, his immediate family, and the persons with whom he resided before his detention, came into substantial means which have mostly been acquired by cash transfers from members of his defence team, which in turn, were diverted from their revenues as assigned defence counsel at the International Tribunal;
NOTING that the accused has been informed of the results of the financial inquiry conducted by the Registry, and has been provided with an opportunity to comment on them in front of a representative of the Registry, and that the accused has been given the opportunity to seek legal advice from his assigned counsel in relation to the matter;
CONSIDERING that the accused has filed his appellant brief, that the appeal is at a relatively advanced stage of the proceedings, and that the Registry estimates that approximately 300 counsel hours and 150 legal assistance working hours would be required for the remainder of the proceedings, and that this, including travel costs, would amount to the costs of US $ 32,000.00 for legal representation;
CONSIDERING that it is evident from the aforementioned information that the accused has sufficient means to remunerate the cost of his defence for the remainder of the appeal;
CONSIDERING that the actions of the accused and particular members of his defence team have gravely abused the system established by the International Tribunal to ensure effective legal assistance to all suspects and accused who are unable to pay for their defence;
NOTING that in accordance with Article 13 (B) of the Directive, the accused may submit a motion to the Chamber for review of the Registrar’s decision within two weeks of the date of notification;
CONSIDERING that the evidence collected by the Registry does at this stage impugn the current lead counsel of the accused, Mr. Stojanovic, but not the co-counsel of the accused, Mr. Deretic and that the Registry would therefore have no objection to Mr. Deretic continuing his representation of the accused on a non-assigned basis;
RESERVING the right to file for recovery of funds against the accused as foreseen in Article 45(F) of the Rules;
RESERVING the right to conduct further investigations in relation to the conduct of former counsel
Mr. Simo Tosic, and into the conduct of all other past and present defence team members;
DECIDES to withdraw the assignment of counsel to the accused and to discontinue the provision of legal aid to the accused.
Hans Holthuis
Registrar
Dated this 8th day of July 2002
At The Hague
The Netherlands
Report on the financial status of the accused Zoran Zigic
2 July 2002
Article 21 ICTY Statute
Rights of the accused
(…)
4. In the determination of any charge against the accused pursuant to the present Statute, the accused shall be entitled to the following minimum guarantees, in full equality:
(…)
d) to be tried in his presence, and to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing; to be informed, if he does not have legal assistance, of this right; and to have legal assistance assigned to him, in any case where the interests of justice so require, and without payment by him in any such case if he does not have sufficient means to pay for it;
(…)
Executive summary
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