REPORT BY INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

THE HAGUE, Feb 17 (Hina) - The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, seated in The Hague, following their second session, issued a report presenting the most significant outcomes of the session, among which are Rules of Procedure and Evidence as primary principles for the activity of this Tribunal. In the course of the second session held from 17 January to 11 February 1994, UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali visited the Tribunal headquarters and "expressed strong support for the Tribunal and placed considerable emphasis on its role in meeting the challenge of a new world order based on democracy and human rights," quotes the report. In the section on Rules of Procedure and Evidence it says that "The primary aim of this session has been to prepare and approve the draft Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the Tribunal. These Rules are based on both the Statute adopted by the Security Council in its resolution 827 (1993) of 25 May 1993, and customary international law. Not only do the Rules provide the necessary structure for the functioning and organisation of the Tribunal, but also for the conduct of the pre-trial phase of the proceedings, including investigation and indictment by the Prosecutor, trials and appeals, the admission of evidence, the protection of victims and witnesses, orders and warrants, and the appointment of counsel". Furthermore, "The Rules place a strong emphasis on the obligation of nation States, pursuant to Article 29 of Statute, to cooperate with the Tribunal and to take whatever steps may be necessary to comply with any of its orders. This includes the enactment of national legislation where necessary to remove any impediment which may exist to the surrender or extradition of suspects or accused." "The Rules confirm, pursuant to the Statute, the primacy of the Tribunal over national court proceedings on the same subject matter. The Tribunal may require a State to defer to the Tribunal jurisdiction and may request a stay of deferral of proceedings, particularly if it appears that the national court proceedings are not impartial or are designed to shield the accused from international criminal responsibility." "The Rules have been adopted by the Tribunal meeting in plenary, on Friday, 11 February. After final editing, to be completed in the following weeks, the Rules will be published in English and French, both texts being authentic", states the end of section on Rules. Professor Theo van Boven, of the University of Limburg in the Netherlands, was appointed Acting Registrar of the Tribunal and will be responsible for the administration. Mr Graham Blewitt, former Director of the Australian War Crime Prosecution Unit, has been appointed Deputy Prosecutor. Mr. Blewitt will replace the initially appointed Ramon Escovar Salom, who has rejected to take the post. The draft budget for 1994-1995 is to be approved next month, says the report adding that a "number of countries have now made contributions to the special United Nations fund from which the Tribunal is financed, in particular, the United States of America, Pakistan and Italy", while other countries have confirmed to contribute in financing the Tribunal. Concerning the section on Adoption of national legislation for the implementation of the Statute, the report states that "Italy has already passed a law in this respect, a number of other countries (including the Netherlands, Spain, France, Great Britain) are in the process of doing so." Future plenary meetings of the Tribunal were scheduled for periods of 25 April - 13 May and 18-28 July. Hearings will start "as soon as the Prosecutor has completed pre-trial investigations pursuant to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, hopefully in mid-1994", ends the Report. 171848 MET feb 94