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Karadzic appeals imposition of court-appointed lawyer

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic on Wednesday filed an appeal with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) challenging the imposition of a court-appointed lawyer. Karadzic argued that the trial court erred by not allowing him to choose standby counsel in violation of his right to "legal assistance of his own choosing" under Article 21(4)(d) of the Statute of the ICTY and the Appeals Chamber ruling in Prosecutor v. Seselj. Karadzic alleged that by not removing the court-appointed counsel, the trial chamber sanctioned the "unreasonable and arbitrary selection procedure which resulted in the exclusion of all lawyers from the Balkans" and the "imposition of a lawyer on the accused that the accused did not want and cannot trust." Last month the Trial Chamber rejected Karadzic's motion challenging the legitimacy of the court. In November, the ICTY denied a motion filed by Karadzic requesting appellate review of the court's decision to assign standby counsel. The ICTY began Karadzic's trial in absentia in October after Karadzic failed to appear in court. Karadzic had announced that he planned to boycott his trial because he had not been given adequate time to prepare a defense. The ICTY has also repeatedly rejected Karadzic's argument that he should be immune from trial based on an alleged agreement with former UN ambassador Richard Holbrooke. Karadzic faces 11 charges, including genocide and murder, for war crimes allegedly committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian genocide. In June, the ICTY said that Karadzic's trial was expected to conclude in early 2012. His trial is planned to be the tribunal's last.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on January 20, 2010 (boomark / email).