ICTY: Karadzic: TC Reiterates Its Refusal to Hear Deronjic’s Evidence

2010-04-20, The Hague, The Netherlands. The Chamber refused to reconsider its earlier decision to admit Miroslav Deronjic’s evidence under Rule 92 quater.

Statement of Law – Reconsideration. The power of the Chamber to reconsider its decision is not provided for in the Statute or the Rules, but is established by the ICTY’s jurisprudence. The party seeking reconsideration must show a clear error in reasoning, or the existence of particular circumstances justifying reconsideration in order to prevent an injustice.

The Chamber refused to reconsider its decision and admit parts of the witness’ testimony on the ground that its original decision refusing to admit the testimony in its entirety was reasonable taking into account that the witness admitted to being dishonest when it came to Dr. Karadzic and because he did not have a complete recollection of all the events in which he participated, as well as the fact that his evidence contained an inordinate amount of evidence about the acts and conduct of the Accused. The Chamber refused to consider the assessment of evidence made by the Chamber in Krajisnik on the ground that each Trial Chamber must make its own assessment of evidence under the specific circumstances of the case. In respect of the second prong of the test, the Chamber stated that in order to meet the test, it is not sufficient to show disadvantage to the requesting party, since the Chamber’s refusal to admit evidence always results in disadvantage.

The Chamber refused to certify this issue for appeal.

Decision