Jovic was sent the court summons, but on September 23 he filed a request to postpone his initial appearance, which was not granted, Judge Alphonse Orie said, adding that the trial chamber would consider the possibility of issuing a warrant for Jovic's arrest.
Orie said that Jovic requested a postponement because he wanted a Croatian court to determine if the Hague tribunal had jurisdiction over reporters and if he was obliged to cooperate with the tribunal.
The jurisdiction of one court is challenged before that court and not some other court, Orie said.
He added that the trial chamber would have to issue a warrant for Jovic's arrest and transfer to The Hague, while prosecutor David Eckerson said he would request in writing that Jovic be arrested.
After the hearing at which Jovic was to have appeared, the tribunal will hear the editor-in-chief of Hrvatsko Slovo weekly, Marijan Krizic, who is expected to enter his plea to charges of contempt of court.
The two men were charged on September 9 with publishing in their respective papers the identity and testimony of a protected witness at the trial of Bosnian Croat commander Tihimir Blaskic in March 1998. Jovic published the testimony in Slobodna Dalmacija in November and December 2000 and Krizic in Hrvatsko Slovo in November and December 2004.