General Markac's defence team on March 20 requested temporary suspension of the decision on Separovic's exclusion from the case until the Appeals Chamber decides on his appeal so as to avoid procedural obstacles to Separovic submitting the appeal, considering the fact that by excluding him from the case, the trial chamber banned him from appearing in court.
The defence team invoked the legal principle under which a trial chamber's decision is not final before the appeals procedure is completed.
The defence team appealed against the decision to remove Separovic from the case and the finding that he was in conflict of interest on the same day, March 20.
On March 6, the trial chamber decided that Separovic could no longer take part in the "Gotovina, Cermak and Markac" case, only a week after it decided that Separovic was in conflict of interest on two grounds - because he had a personal interest in the case in protecting himself as a former justice minister whose ministry was potentially accountable for omissions, as well as because the defence team for General Ante Gotovina said he was a necessary witness for the issue of functioning of military courts.
The appeal submitted to the Appeals Chamber by General Markac also contains a statement by lawyers for General Ivan Cermak, who do not consider Separovic a necessary witness since the content of his testimony can be obtained from other sources, and they do not intend to call him to the witness stand.