8) Mechanism for international Criminal Tribunals Date:

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1 UNITED NATIONS MICT ( ) 447 ZS Case No.: 8) Mechanism for international Criminal Tribunals Date: Original: MICT April 2015 English THE PRESIDENT OF THE MECHANISM Before: Registrar: Decision of: Judge Theodor Meron, President Mr. John Hocking 8 April 2015 PROSECUTOR v. BERNARD MUNYAGISHARI PUBLIC DECISION ON THIRD REQUEST FOR REVOCATION OF AN ORDER REFERRING A CASE TO THE REPUBLIC OF RWANDA The Office of the Prosecutor: Hassan Bubacar JaIlow James J. Arguin Francois X. Nsanzuwera Chelsea Fewkes Bernard Munyagishari: Natacha Fauveau Ivanovic Received by the Registry Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals 08/ :17 ~~-r.

2 446 I, THEODOR MERON, President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals ("Mechanism"); NOTING that a chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (" ICTR") referred the case of Mr. Bernard Munyagishari to the authorities of the Republic of Rwanda ("Rwanda") for trial before the High Court of Rwanda,' and thatthe Appeals Chamber of the ICTR, inter alia, affirmed the referral of Mr. Munyagishari's case to Rwanda.' NOTING the first request for revocation of the order referring Mr. Munyagishari' s case to Rwanda submitted by Mr. Munyagishari, acting pro se, and filed on 30 August 2013,3 and the second request for revocation of the order referring Mr. Munyagishari's case to Rwanda submitted by Mr. Munyagishari's former eo-counsel before the ICTR, acting on a pro bono basis, and filed on 21 May 2014,4 which were both dismissed on 13 March 2014 and 26 June 2014, without prejudice to the filing of a new request for revocation, including a request based on issues raised in the First and Second Revocation Requests;" NOTING the third request for revocation of the order referring Mr. Munyagishari's case to Rwanda, submitted by Mr. Munyagishari's former eo-counsel before the ICTR, acting on a pro bono basis, and filed on 3 March 2015,6 in which it is alleged that revocation is warranted because: (i ) Mr. Munyagishari's defence counsel in Rwanda have not been paid;? (ii) the funds Rwandan authorities are offering for conducting Mr. Munyagishari's defence are insufficient.f (iii) the I The Prosecutor v. Bern ard Munyagishari, Case No. ICTR R11bis, Decision on the Prosecutor's Request for Referral of the Case to the Republic of Rwanda, 6 June ("Referral Decision"), pp The referral chamber designated under Rule 1Ibis of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the ICTR ("Referral Chamber") rendered this decision. 2 Bernard Muny ag ishari v. The Prosecutor, Case No. ICTR AR11 bis, Decision on Bemard Munyagishari's Third and Fourth Motions for Admission ofadditional Evidence and on the Appeals Against the Decision on Referral Under Rule I I bis, 3 May 2013 ("Appeal Decision"), p. 44. See also Bernard Munya gishari v. The Prosecutor, Case No. ICTR AR I Ibis, Decision on Bemard Munyagishari' s Motion for Reconsideration of the Decision on Appeals Against Referral Decision, 8 July 2013; Bern ard Munyagishari v. The Prosecut or, Case No. ICTR AR II bis, Decision on l3emard Munyagishari's Motion for Reconsideration of the 8 July 2013 Decision and for Replacement of Counsel and on the Prosecution's Motion to Strike, 19 July 2013; Bernard Munyagishari v. The Prosecu tor, Case No. ICTR AR 11 bis, Decision on Bernard Munyagishari's Motion for Reconsideration of Prior Reconsideration Decisions, 24 July Requ ete de dessais}sseme nt du transfer: de B. Munyagishari pour violation grave des droits fonda menta ux, filed on 30 August 2013, English translation filed on 26 September (" First Revocation Request"). 4 Requ ete de Bern ard Muny ag ish ari QlIX fins d 'obt enir l 'annulation de l 'ordonnance de renvoi, filed on 21 May 2014, English translation filed on 4 June 2014 (public with confidential annexes) ("Second Revocation Request"). 5 Decision on Request for Revocation of an Order Referring a Case to the Republic of Rwanda, 13 March 2014, p. 3; Decision on Second Request for Revocation of an Order Referr ing a Case to the Republic of Rwanda, 26 June ("Second Revocation Request Decision"), p Requ ete de Bernard Muny agish ari aux fins d 'obtenir T'annulation de I 'ordonnance de renvoi, filed on 3 March 2015, English translation filed on 17 March 2015 ("Third Revocation Request"). A" references herein are to the English translation of the Third Revocation Request. 7 Third Revocation Request, paras. 8, 10, 14,28. See also Third Revocation Request, paras. 6, 9, Third Revocation Request, paras. / Case No. MICT April 20 15

3 445 Rwanda Bar Association ("RBA") has declined to take responsibility for the payment of his appointed defence counsel in Rwanda, passing this responsibility to the Rwandan Ministry of Justice, a non-neutral party with its own interests in the case; 9 (iv) Article 6 of the draft contract on legal aid proposed by the Rwandan Ministry of Justice to Mr. Munyagishari's defence counsel ("Draft Contract") hinders the work of defence counsel and contravenes their freedom of speech;10 and (v) the principle of equality of arms has been violated because the means available to the Rwandan prosecutors are far greater than those available to the defence, such that a fair trial in Rwandaa is IS impossible; 11 NOTI NG that the Office ofthe Prosecutor (" Prosecution") filed a submission on 17 March 2015,12 opposing the Third Revocation Request because: (i) revocation is a remedy of last resort, and the matters raised are still the subject of ongoing negotiations with the Rwandan authorities;13 (i i) the RBA continues to administer the appointment of counsel in legal aid cases and continues to be invested in the contract negotiations with the Rwandan Ministry of Justice, but funding therefor falls within the budgetary competence ofthe Rwandan Ministry of Justice;" and (iii) there has been no violation of the equality of arms and, in any event, there has been no showing that such a violation could not be remedied in the Rwandan courts;" NOTING that Mr. Munyagishari' s former eo-counsel before the ICTR, acting on a pro bono basis, filed a reply on 23 March 20 15,16 in which Mr. Munyagishari reiterates his submissions in the Third Revocation Request and underscores his assertion that revocation is warranted because the situation remains unchanged since the issuance of the Second Revocation Request Decision;17 9 Third Revocation Request, paras Mr. Munyagishari argues specifically that the Rwandan Ministry of Justice is issuing threats of removal of his defence counsel, which threats were substantiated in the case against Mr. Jean Uwinkindi, and which constitute a form of undue intimidation and interference in Mr. Munyagishari's defence case. See Third Revocation Request, para Third Revocation Request, paras. 22. See also Third Revocation Request, para \ Third Revocation Request, paras /2 Prosecutor's Opposition to Bernard Munyagishari' s Third Request for Revocation of Referral Order, 17 March 2015 ("Response"). 13 Response, paras. 2, 4, 6, 8, 15-17, 25-26, 30. See also Response, para. 3, Annex B. The Prosecutor submits that Mr. Munyagishari's claims regarding the language proposed in Article 6 of the Draft Contract are moot because the Draft Contract is still under negotiation; the RBA objected to Article 6 of the Draft Contract prompting the Rwanda Ministry of Justice to remove the contentious language. Response, paras. 2 ' -22, Annex A. 14 Response, paras Response. paras Replique de Bernard Muny agishari a la reponse du Procureur relative a la troisieme requete aux fins d' obtenir I'annulation de I'ordonnance de renvoi, filed on 23 March 2015 (" Reply"). 17 Reply, paras. 5, 7-10, 12. See also Reply, paras Mr. Munyagishari submits that the Monitoring Report for the Munyagishari Case (January 20 J5), 26 February ("January 2015 Monitoring Report") is not yet available on the Mechanism website, and therefore his former eo-counsel before the ICTR, acting on a pro bono basis, has not as yet seen it. Reply, para Case No. MICT-J April 20 15

4 444 NOTING the monitoring reports filed between June 2014 and February 2015 In Mr. M unyagis. hari an s case; 18 relation to RECALLING that the Referral Chamber granted Mr. Munyagishari standing to seek revocation of the order referring his case to Rwanda; 19 CONSIDERING that Rule 14(C) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the Mechanism grants the President of the Mechanism discretion to assign a Trial Chamber to decide, pursuant to Article 6(6) of the Statute of the Mechanism ("Statute"), whether to revoke an order of referral and make a formal request for deferral; CONSIDEIUNG that the gravamen of the Third Revocation Request concerns the funding of Mr. Munyagishari's defence team and its investigations, and certain matters corollary theretor" CONSIDEIUNG that insofar as the funding issues raised by Mr. Munyagishari could impact, infer alia, the adequacy of time and facilities for the preparation of his defence, these are matters of concern to the Mechanism ;" CONSIDEIUNG that insofar as Mr. Munyagishari makes submissions in the Third Revocation Request concerning the payment of his defence team and the Draft Contract, these matters are sti11 the focus of ongoing negotiations and may be subject to further review by the competent Rwandan authorities, including the Rwandan Ministry ofjustice and the RBA,22 and are, accordingly, not ripe for consideration as a basis for revocation pursuant to Article 6(6) of the Statute ;23 18 Monitoring Report for the Munyagishari Case (February 2015), 26 March 2015 ("February 2015 Monitoring Report"); January 2015 Monitoring Report; Second Monitoring Report for the Munyagishari Case (December 2014), 27 January ("Second December 2014 Monitoring Report"); Monitoring Report for the Munyagishari Case (December 2014), 13 January 2015; Second Monitoring Report for the Munyagishari Case (November 2014), 17 December 2014 ("Second November 2014 Monitoring Report"); Monitoring Report for the Munyagishari Case (November 2014), 19 November ("November Monitoring Report"); Monitoring Report for the Munyagishari Case (October 2014), 18 November 20 J4 ("October 2014 Monitoring Report"); Monitoring Report for the Munyagishari Case (September 2014),2 October 2014 ("September 2014 Monitoring Report"); Monitoring Report for the Munyagishari Case (August 2014), 8 September 2014; Monitoring Report for the Munyagishari Case (July 2014), 28 August 2014; Monitoring Report for the Munyagishari Case (June 2014), 16 July 2014 ("June 2014 Monitoring Report"). 19 Referral Decision, p Third Revocation Request, paras See, e.g., Second Revocation Request Decision, p. 3; The Pros ecutor v. Jean Uwinkindi, Case No. MICT-12-25, Decision on Request for Revocation of an Order Referring a Case to the Republic of Rwanda, 12 March 2014, p. 3; Appeal Decision, para. 84; J ean Uwinkindi v. The Prosecutor, Case No. ICTR ARllbis, Decision on Uwinkindi' s Appeal Against the Referral of His Case to Rwanda and Related Motions, 16 December 2011, para. 52. Se e generally Article 6(6) of the Statute. 22 See Third Revocation Request, paras. 6, 10, 15, 22; Reply, paras. 4, 8-9. S ee also Third Revocation Request, paras , Annex 3; Response, paras. 2, 4, 8-12, 15-16, 20-22, 25, Annex A; Reply, para. 7; February 20 J5 Monitoring Report, paras , 43, 59-60; January 2015 Monitoring Report, paras. 6-9, 11-\3, 25-27; Second December 2014 Monitoring Report, paras. 12, 14, 20-25, 29-31; Second November 2014 Monitoring Report, paras. 19, 22, 3 I; Case No. MICT April2015

5 443 NOTING, however, that ] am concerned by the long delay in concluding an agreement on remuneration for Mr. Munyagishari's counsel, and consider that should such a delay continue for a significant period it could give rise to fair trial concerns; FOR THE FOREGOING REASONS, DISMISS the Third Revocation Request, without prejudice to the filing of a new request for revocation, including a request based on issues raised in the Third Revocation Request, should circumstances warrant. Done in English and French, the English version being authoritative. Done this 8th day ofapril 2015, At The Hague, The Netherlands. ~V""- ~ ~ Judge Theodor Meron President (Seal of the MechanismJ November 2014 Monitoring Report, paras. 10, 14, 16; October 2014 Monitoring Report, para. 22; September 2014 Monitoring Report, para. 12; June 20 J4 Monitoring Report, paras. 21,40. Se e also Monitoring Report for the Uwinkindi Case (February 2015), 17 March 2015, paras. 38,40-41,80; Monitoring Report for the Uwinkindi Case (January 2015), 26 February 2015 ("Uwinkindi January 2015 Monitoring Report"), paras. 16, 36-37, 39, note that the Monitoring Reports for the Munyagishari and Uwinkindi Cases indicate that the amount of funding in the Draft Contract is non-negotiable. See, e.g., January 2015 Monitoring Report, para. 27; Uwinkindi January 2015 Monitoring Report, para. 37; Second November 2014 Monitoring Report, para. 22; November 2014 Monitoring Report, para. 6. However neither Mr. Munyagishari's nor the Prosecution's submissions in the Third Revocation Request and Response, respectively, indicate that any portion of the contract is not open to negotiations, and indeed Mr. Munyagishari's submissions imply that the contract is still under discussion. See Third Revocation Request, paras. 6, 10, 15,22; Reply, paras. 4, 8-9. See also Third Revocation Request, paras ; Response, paras. 2, 8-12, 15-16,20 22,25, Annex A; Reply, para Case No. M1CT April 2015

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