Attorneys representing Croatian general Ante Gotovina at the Hague war crimes tribunal have asked the Appeals Chamber to strike the prosecution's response to Gotovina's appeal to the trial chamber verdict due to violations of the practice direction on the length of briefs and motions and the Appeals Chamber's decision on the prescribed length of briefs in appeals proceedings.
"The only appropriate remedy is for the Appeals Chamber to strike both Respondent's Briefs of the Prosecution for failure to comply with the Practice Direction and the Appeals Chamber's 20 July 2011 Decision," reads the motion by Gotovina's defence, published by the tribunal on Wednesday.
According to the motion, the prosecution submitted confidentially its responses to the appeal filed by General Gotovina and General Mladen Markac's defence teams on the last day of the deadline, September 12.
Gotovina's defence says the prosecution's briefs exceed by almost 30,000 words the prescribed word limit.
Since the defence must respond to the prosecution's brief by September 27, Gotovina's attorneys requested the Appeals Chamber to issue an expedited ruling on their motion.
If the Appeals Chamber decides to set a new deadline for the prosecution to re-file its brief, the defence asks that the deadline for its response be no sooner than October 3 considering the fact that it cannot completely focus on writing a reply brief because in that period it has to travel to The Hague for a status conference in the case.
The Hague tribunal set the next status conference in the Gotovina and Markac case for September 29 as by that time all briefs in the appeals proceedings were to have been filed.
Responding to the latest defence motion, the prosecution said it was unfounded and asked the Appeals Chamber to reject it.
Defence teams for Gotovina and Markac on August 1 filed an appeal against a trial court verdict sentencing them to 24 and 18 years in prison respectively for crimes committed during the 1995 Croatian army and police operation "Storm".
