Ratko Mladić appeal hearing taking place on 25 and 26 August 2020: Practical information and case background

The appeal hearing in the case of Prosecutor v. Ratko Mladić before the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (“Mechanism”) will take place on Tuesday, 25 August 2020 and Wednesday, 26 August 2020 in Courtroom I of the Mechanism's Hague branch, pursuant to the “Decision on the Scheduling of the Appeal Hearing and a Status Conference” issued by the Mechanism's Appeals Chamber on 17 July 2020.

The hearing will begin with an introductory statement by Judge Prisca Matimba Nyambe, Presiding Judge in the case, followed by oral arguments on the appeals presented by the Defence and the Prosecution. The hearing is scheduled to conclude on Wednesday, 26 August at 3:55 p.m.

Please note that due to COVID-19-related restrictions, there will be no access to the Mechanism premises for media representatives and members of the public wishing to attend the hearing.

The hearing will be publicly broadcast on the Mechanism’s website with a 30-minute delay, and available at the following link: https://www.irmct.org/en/cases/mict-courtroom-broadcast.

Filming of the court proceedings will be carried out by authorised Mechanism staff, and an audio-visual copy of the hearing will be distributed after each day of the hearing. Media wishing to obtain footage of the hearing should send a request to mict-press[at]un.org, specifying the required format (MP4 or MOV) and language (English, French, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian or all channels).

Limited space is available in the vicinity of the Mechanism building for SNG trucks. The Mechanism does not issue accreditations for SNG trucks and spaces are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Trucks parked in non-designated areas will be asked to move by the local authorities.

Limited break-out boxes for audio and video feeds are available. However, media organisations must ensure that they have an adequate supply of cabling and power.

Background

On 22 November 2017, Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (“ICTY”) issued its judgement in the case of Prosecutor v. Mladić (“Trial Judgement”). The Trial Chamber convicted Ratko Mladić, former Commander of the Main Staff of the Army of the Bosnian Serb Republic (“VRS”), of genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of the laws or customs of war. He was acquitted of genocide in relation to Count 1 of the Indictment. Mladić was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Trial Chamber found that Mladić committed these crimes through his participation in four joint criminal enterprises. In this regard, it found that: (i) from 12 May 1992 until 30 November 1995, Mladić participated in a joint criminal enterprise with the objective of permanently removing Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats from Bosnian Serb-claimed territory in Bosnia and Herzegovina (“BiH”) through persecution, extermination, murder, inhumane acts, and deportation; (ii) between 12 May 1992 and November 1995, Mladić participated in a joint criminal enterprise with the objective of spreading terror among the civilian population of Sarajevo through a campaign of sniping and shelling; (iii) from the days immediately preceding 11 July 1995 to at least October 1995, Mladić participated in a joint criminal enterprise with the objective of eliminating the Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica by killing the men and boys, and forcibly removing the women, young children, and some elderly men; and (iv) from approximately 25 May 1995 to approximately 24 June 1995, Mladić participated in a joint criminal enterprise with the objective to capture United Nations personnel deployed in BiH and detain them in strategic military locations to prevent the North Atlantic Treaty Organization from launching further military air strikes on Bosnian Serb military targets.

Mladić was initially indicted on 24 July 1995. After being at large for almost sixteen years, he was arrested in Serbia on 26 May 2011 and transferred to the ICTY on 31 May 2011. The trial commenced on 16 May 2012 and lasted a total of 530 days, during which some 9,914 exhibits were admitted and the Trial Chamber heard or received evidence of a total of 592 witnesses.

Both the Defence and Prosecution appealed the Trial Judgement. Mladić requested the Appeals Chamber to extend the deadlines for the briefing process. The Appeals Chamber partly granted the requests, allowing a total of 210 days in extensions of time. Accordingly, both parties filed their respective notices of appeal against the Trial Judgement on 22 March 2018, their respective appellant’s briefs on 6 August 2018, their respective respondent’s briefs on 14 November 2018, and finally their respective reply briefs on 29 November 2018.

On 18 June 2018, Mladić requested the disqualification of Judges Theodor Meron, Carmel Agius, and Liu Daqun from the appeals bench in this case on the basis of actual or apparent bias. The matter was referred to Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti. On 3 September 2018, Judge Antonetti granted Mladić's requests and, on 4 September 2018, assigned Judges Mparany Mamy Richard Rajohnson, Gberdao Gustave Kam, and Elizabeth Ibanda-Nahamya to replace Judges Meron, Agius, and Liu. As of 14 September 2018, following the withdrawal of Judge Rajohnson and his replacement by Judge Aminatta Lois Runeni N'gum, the appeals bench in this case is composed of Judge Prisca Matimba Nyambe (Presiding), Judge Aminatta Lois Runeni N'gum, Judge Gberdao Gustave Kam, Judge Seymour Panton, and Judge Elizabeth Ibanda-Nahamya.

The Mechanism was established on 22 December 2010 by the United Nations Security Council to carry out a number of essential functions of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the ICTY, including completion of a limited number of cases which are inherited from the work of these two tribunals.