ZAGREB, Jan 2 (Hina) - Attorneys representing retired General Ante Gotovina, who is wanted by the war crimes tribunal at The Hague, have applauded the Croatian government's decision to provide them with documentation already submitted
to the U.N. tribunal, with Ivo Farcic saying the decision was a "very good sign" and Ante Vukorepa that it was "expected".
ZAGREB, Jan 2 (Hina) - Attorneys representing retired General Ante
Gotovina, who is wanted by the war crimes tribunal at The Hague, have
applauded the Croatian government's decision to provide them with
documentation already submitted to the U.N. tribunal, with Ivo Farcic
saying the decision was a "very good sign" and Ante Vukorepa that it
was "expected".#L#
The government said on Friday it would act on a recent ruling of the
Zagreb Municipal Court and submit to the lawyers of Gotovina, who has
been on the run since the Hague tribunal indicted him in June 2001,
documents already in possession of the tribunal.
"We are aware the government found itself in a delicate situation
because it had to act fast and correct the mistake done by the
previous government," Farcic said today. He added that acting on a
court ruling could not be considered an exception or that one could
derive from it that in this case the Hague legislation was above
Croatian laws.
"Our courts decide by rules valid here, and when the case arrives
before the Hague tribunal, its rules will be applied," Farcic said,
adding that only if rules valid in Croatia and those in use at The
Hague collided would the Rules of Procedure and Evidence valid at The
Hague be applied.
The government said today that before deciding on providing Gotovina's
lawyers with the documents they had requested, it had held
consultations with the Hague tribunal's Office of the Prosecutor,
concluding that the case in question constituted an exception and not
a change of the rules of procedure.
Under the Hague tribunal's rules, a case begins when the defendant is
under the tribunal's jurisdiction and has appointed his lawyers. Once
they are approved by the tribunal's registrar, they are authorised to
receive documents relevant to the case. The tribunal does not consider
the lawyers of a defendant who is at large legitimate to represent the
accused.
The tribunal's spokesman, Jim Landale, and the spokeswoman of the
Prosecutor's Office, Florence Hartmann, were unavailable for comment
on Friday evening. The tribunal resumes working on January 12.
Speaking to Hina, Vukorepa said the government's decision of today had
been expected because Prime Minister Ivo Sanader "announced that as a
legalist, he would honour the court's ruling".
Vukorepa thinks the documents will help the defence in the extradition
procedure before the
Zagreb County Court.
Asked if that meant the fugitive might appear before judges in Zagreb,
Vukorepa said he could not answer this but added that one of the
defence team's next steps might be to request the Prosecutor's Office
in The Hague to reconsider the indictment against Gotovina.
(Hina) ha