The trial chamber made the decision after receiving feedback from the tribunal's detention unit that Seselj would not show up in court despite the tribunal's explicit warning that his failure to appear would be regarded as obstruction of justice.
The tribunal had appointed British lawyer David Hooper to defend Seselj, but later withdrew the decision, giving Seselj an opportunity to present his own defence. The tribunal, however, warned Seselj that the court-assigned counsel would be reactivated if he was found to be obstructing proceedings by his behaviour.
Seselj, who is charged with war crimes committed in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina in the 1990s, did not appear at today's status conference because he was feeling poorly as a result of his refusal to take food, a court official explained at the start of the hearing.
Seselj began a hunger strike on November 11, demanding the lifting of restrictions on his wife's visits, formal registration of his legal advisers with the tribunal, submission of his court documents in the Serbian language only, and withdrawal of the decision imposing stand-by defence counsel.
Seselj has been in the tribunal's custody since his voluntary surrender on February 24, 2004.
Meanwhile, the Serbian National Council for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal filed a formal request on Wednesday, urging the court to respect Seselj's rights.
"We wish to draw attention to the fact that too many tragic events have happened in the Hague tribunal," National Council member Zoran Loncar told Belgrade-based Beta news agency, adding that the tribunal would be held fully responsible for any consequences of Seselj's hunger strike.