Separović Seeks Right To Appeal Disqualification

General Mladen Markac's lawyer Miroslav Separovic has requested the Hague Tribunal to appeal the decision of the Trial Chamber.

General Mladen Markac's lawyer Miroslav Separovic has requested the Hague Tribunal's permission to file an appeal to the decision of the Trial and Appeals Chamber that has disqualified him from the case on account of a personal conflict of interest, assessing that the judges made "the wrong decision" which stands in conflict with standard judiciary practice and principles of fair trial because it leaves the defendant without a defending attorney of his own choosing two months before the start of the trial.

On March 6, the Hague Tribunal Trial and Appeals Chamber disqualified Separovic from the trial after having established a personal conflict of interest on two grounds – primarily because he has personal interest in the case as a former Justice Minister whose Ministry may potentially be held responsible for the oversights, but also because defending General Ante Gotovina has made him a crucial witness on the matter of court martial proceedings.

Separovic reminded that he still thought that he had no conflict of interest in the request he filed on March 12. 

In regard to the Chamber's conclusion that he was a "crucial witness" on court martials, Separovic wrote that, for instance, the president of the Split court martial Zoran Matulovic, who was interviewed by Gotovina's attorney Misetic before the last appearance before the Tribunal, can give a relevant testimony on the matter.

"Mister Misetic, General Gotovina's attorney, was more than aware of Matulovic's knowledge when he interviewed him in Split before the court appearance on February 28, 2007. Nonetheless, Mr. Misetic did not inform the court of his findings and, in this way, he eliminated the attribute of the "crucial witness" for Separovic, says the filed report, which also includes Matulovic's statement on the authority of the Ministry of Justice in relation to court martials as well as on the conversation with lawyer Misetic, to whom he had given consent to be a witness to these circumstances. 

Furthermore, Separovic claims that the judges had not legally tested the thesis that he was a crucial witness before they made such a conclusion. As other possible witnesses on the way court martials work, he cites the former Supreme Court president, the former State Attorney, Assistant Minister of Justice, and many other judiciary officials. The report also includes the translations of the 1993 Law on courts and Regulations on the organization, work, and jurisdiction in the instance of war or immediate threat to the independence and uniqueness of the Republic of Croatia.

As far as the Chamber's conclusion that he has a conflict of interest "for personal reasons" is concerned, Separovic says that this is the unfounded allegation that, as the former Justice Minister, he should be held responsible for all illegal acts mentioned in the charges against Gotovina, Cermak, and Markac and would therefore have a motive to pin the responsibility for the court martials' oversights on the Ministry of Defence.

"What needs to be pointed out clearly is that this dilemma is not based in reality because no other ministry was held legally or constitutionally responsible for military or any other courts." The responsibility and control were in the hands of the Supreme Court, says Separovic and explains that not even the Minister of Justice or the Minister of Defence had legal or real authority to intervene and control the work of either military or civil courts in Croatia.

The report also includes the statement of the state's attorney's office, saying that Separovic was not investigated in any way in relation to the military operation Storm.

In the end, Separovic reminds that the fact that both the Hague Tribunal and the Chamber knew for a long time that he had been Justice Minister because he mentioned it in his CV when he was getting his accreditation at the Hague Tribunal and that this fact was not an obstacle when he became a defence attorney in the Hague.

The report also contains a new statement by General Markac, dated March 8, in which he insists that he be represented by Separovic and says that, in spite of the Chamber's conclusion to the contrary, he thinks that the disqualification of Separovic is not in his best interest and that the Tribunal's decision is unjust to him as well as unlawful.

He mentions that he contacted several lawyers and they all refused to represent him on such short notice and he says that the entire case has affected his health. 

"I feel exhausted and I am not able to do all the preparations for my defence all over again with another person." 

In his statement, he has announced that, unless he is able to find a new attorney, he will defend himself.