Milosevic indifferent to new judge

Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic expressed indifference today over the planned appointment of a new judge in his war crimes trial, and insisted that he be released from UN custody to prepare his defence.

Tribunal President Theodore Meron convened a special hearing in The Hague to ask Milosevic for his opinion on replacing Briton Richard May, who has resigned as presiding judge due to a serious illness midway through the trial.

The new judge is almost certain to be British.

When Milosevic declined a second time to comment on substituting May, Meron said his actions “amounted to a refusal to grant your consent” and referred the matter back to the trial chamber.

“Mr Meron, you know well I believe, I hope, that I consider this tribunal illegal. I have no intention of declaring my views on your administrative matters,” Milosevic said.

A decision will now be taken by the remaining two trial judges, Patrick Robinson of Jamaica and O-Gon Kwon of South Korea, on a replacement for Judge May. The tribunal’s recommendation must be approved by the United Nations.

Milosevic also complained that the proceedings were unfair, since he is confined to the UN detention unit during the preparation of his defence case.

He has applied several times to be released to have full and private access to potential witnesses and research materials.

But Meron said the court had provided “unprecedented facilities” for him to prepare his case and that it would have been easier if he had appointed a lawyer. Milosevic has been assigned a special room with private communications where he can conduct interviews.

Milosevic faces 66 counts of war crimes, including genocide, for his alleged criminal activity in the decade-long break-up of Yugoslavia.

Judge May’s departure, announced last month, will almost certainly effect the conduct of the case. The British judge kept tight control of his courtroom, frequently curbing Milosevic’s rhetoric or aggressive cross-examination. Robinson has been assigned to take over as presiding justice.

Under current practice, May’s replacement also is likely to be from Britain. The new judge will have just a few weeks to absorb more than two years of trial records, including testimony from nearly 300 prosecution witnesses.