The start depends mostly on the appointment of lawyers for retired general Slobodan Praljak who in September last year asked the UN war crimes tribunal to cover costs of his defence. The ICTY Registry then launched an investigation into Praljak's financial ability to pay lawyers. The investigation has not yet been over.
In addition, all parties in concern - the chamber of judges in the pre-trial proceedings, prosecutors and indictees - agree that this is the most complex case in the ICTY practice given that the indictment covers a long period with many events and that the prosecution is planning to call 400 witnesses with almost 10,000 pieces of evidence.
Some more meetings of the prosecution and lawyers of those six Bosnian Croats, accused of crimes against humanity and breaches of the Geneva Conventions, will be held in February.