Tarculovski, 30, said he wanted to enter his plea in the presence of an attorney of his choice instead of an ad hoc attorney appointed by the tribunal.
Judge Carmel Agius accepted the request.
The Macedonian authorities arrested Tarculovski on March 14, on the same day they received an indictment from the Hague tribunal against Tarculovski and former Interior Minister Ljube Boskoski. Tarculovski was transferred to The Hague on March 16.
The two men are charged with three counts of violations of the laws and customs of war, cruel treatment and destruction of settlements during an attack by the Macedonian police and army on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near Skopje on August 12, 2001, during a conflict with Albanian guerrillas.