The trial chamber also decided on the problem of representation of the accused Valentin Coric, who had withdrawn his authorisation to Attorney Tomislav Jonjic to represent him. The judges ruled that Jonjic would remain involved in the case as court-assigned counsel in the next two months until Coric chooses a new lawyer. Jonjic's request to be immediately dismissed from the case, on which he had worked for two years, was rejected.
The trial chamber further decided that counsel for the six accused would have to file their motions jointly rather than separately, and accepted a time frame proposed by Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte, according to which the prosecutors would present their evidence within one year's time.
Michael Karnavas, the US lawyer of the first defendant Jadranko Prlic, expressed his disappointment with the decision, saying that the defence would have great difficulty implementing it.
Defence attorneys criticised the indictment and called for substantial amendments, while the prosecutor insisted that the indictment should remain as it is, citing her mandate from the UN Security Council.
The trial chamber granted a request by the accused Slobodan Praljak to hold a multimedia presentation to give his view of the war and charges against him.
The trial was set to start on Wednesday afternoon with an opening statement by the prosecution, and Praljak was to hold his presentation on Thursday.
Jadranko Prlic, Valentin Coric, Bruno Stojic, Berislav Pusic, Milivoj Petkovic and Slobodan Praljak are charged with the ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims who lived in Croat-majority areas of Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1993/94.