Earlier this month a three-member trial chamber of the Hague tribunal decided by majority vote to remove Prodanovic and Slokovic from Cermak's defence team due to conflict of interest. Judge Bakone Justice Moloto of South Africa and Belgian Judge Christine van den Wyngaert were in favour of removing them from the case, while Judge Orie voted against.
The fact that conflict of interest is only a possibility goes in favour of Prodanovic and Slokovic continuing to represent Cermak, Orie said in a statement published two weeks after the exemption of the two attorneys, stressing that the defence team had to hire a third lawyer in case of Ademi's potential involvement in the case.
The issue of potential conflict of interest on the part of the two lawyers was raised by attorneys for General Ante Gotovina, who last year announced the possibility of calling to the witness stand General Ademi, Prodanovic and Slokovic's other client.
On April 5, the trial chamber conducting the case against Croatian generals Ante Gotovina, Mladen Markac and Ivan Cermak removed Prodanovic and Slokovic from Cermak's defence team, stating that the issue at stake was no longer Ademi's possible testimony, but the fact that the continued involvement of the two attorneys in Cermak's defence would rob him of the possibility to build his defence on shifting responsibility to two of his superiors - General Ante Gotovina and his deputy, General Rahim Ademi, because of the duty of loyalty the two attorneys have towards Ademi, whom they are representing in a different trial in Croatia.
The trial of the three generals, previously scheduled for May 7, has been postponed until further notice.