Hague court names lawyers to help Milosevic trial
( 2001-09-07 08:59 ) (7 )

The Hague war crimes tribunal appointed three prominent international lawyers on Thursday to help smooth the trial of former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic despite his refusal to engage defence counsel.

Branislav Tapuskovic, head of the Serbian Lawyers' Association, Briton Steven Kay and Dutch advocate Mischa Wladimiroff were named as "amicus curiae" or "friend of the court" by the court registrar, the tribunal said in a statement.

Judges last week ordered the appointment of amicus curiae to assist the trial chamber, not to represent the accused but to help secure a fair trial for Milosevic, who faces charges of crimes against humanity for 1999 Kosovo atrocities.

Milosevic has branded the Hague tribunal illegal and therefore refuses to enlist a defence lawyer.

The tribunal registrar considered "the interest of justice would be best served by the appointment of an international team of experienced lawyers representing a constellation of legal backgrounds", the tribunal said in a statement.

Kay acted for Alfred Musema, a former Rwandan tea factory boss convicted in 2000 of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda + sister institution to the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia in The Hague.

Wladimiroff represented Bosnian Serb police reservist Dusko Tadic, the first person to be sentenced by the Hague tribunal in a full-length trial. Tadic was jailed in 1997 for 20 years for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Milosevic has challenged the legality of the UN court, which was set up in 1993. But tribunal judges rejected a similar challenge by Tadic in 1995.