UN's Balkan war crimes tribunal decides to appoint defence counsel for Karadzic
5 November 2009 – The United Nations war crimes tribunal set up to prosecute the worst offences committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s today instructed its registrar to appoint a defence lawyer for former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić, who stands accused of genocide.
As the court-appointed counsel for Mr. Karadžić will need time to prepare his case, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague also issued the decision to resume the trial on 1 March 2010.
Mr. Karadžić refused to appear at the start of his trial on 26 October, claiming his defence – which he has been preparing himself – was not ready, despite ICTY decisions stating that he had been given adequate time.
Mr. Karadžić received four separate warnings before and after the trial’s scheduled commencement date that his obstructive conduct would result in the Court assigning a lawyer to him and proceedings continuing without him.
Given his right to self-representation, Mr. Karadžić will continue to act in his own defence, including the handling of day-to-day matters, such as filing motions and responses to motions issued by the prosecution, as well as preparing himself for trial next year.
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