URGENT ! - HAND OVER !

 

REQUEST WITH SUMMONS

 

 

 

 

To the President of the ICTY

 

To the Registrar of the ICTY

 

Churchillplein 1

2517 GW Den Haag

 

 

 

                                          6 August 2001

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

Mr. S. Milosevic turned to me, as well as to Mr. Ch. Black, attorney om Toronto, Canada, and to Mr. A. Tremblay, Professor International Law and attorney in Montreal, Canada, with the request to institute legal action against the State of the Netherlands in respect of his unlawful abduction, unlawful detention and unlawful treatment during the said detention, and the responsibilities of the State of the Netherlands in this respect.

 

In first instance, my client will institute interim injuncti­on proceedings in the shortest possible term in respect of this matter against the State of the Netherlands.

 

As a member of the Dutch bar, I or a remplacement to be desig­nated by me, will be in charge of the above-mentioned legal proceedings, assisted by my collegues Mr. Black and Mr. Tremblay.

 

At a later stage it may be necessary to involve still other collegues as counsel in this matter, wich in that case will be made known to you.

 

The legal assistance to be provided in this matter by my collegues and me will expressly be limited to the legal action at issue by Mr. Milosevic against the Dutch State.

 

Therefore, the legal assistance to be provided by us to our client in these actions by Mr. Milosevic against the Dutch State have no connection whatsoever with the issue of a possi­ble defense against the so-called accusations on the part of the so-called ICTY.

 

That issue has expressly no connection with this.

 

Therefore, in the legal action at issue, which will exclusively involve the legal relationship between Mr. Milosevic and the State of the Netherlands, no directive of whatever kind of the so-called ICTY could be deemed to be applicable to the legal assistance provided and to be provided by us to our client, assuming that the so-called ICTY would be recognised in any way from our part, which is expressly not the case.

 

In connection with the preparation of the legal action at issue, including in the first place the abovementioned interim injunction proceeding, we request - and insofar as needed we summon - that you assure a free and unrestricted access to our client.

 

I request you to inform me of your assent to this request by fax of by e-mail.

 

If you fail to inform me of your express assent to this re­quest by August 8, 2001, at the latest, I will assume that you apparently want to interfere with our client's fundamental right to free and unimpeded contact with counsel of his own choice in respect of these specific legal actions in the legal relationship between my client and the State of the Nether­lands and that you want to place obstacles in my client's way in this respect.

 

In that case, I will, without delay, and without any further summons and correspondence, institute interim injunction proceeding against the ICTY on behalf of my client before the President of the Ditrict Court in the Hague.

 

This in order to force your institution to also respect this fundamental right of my client.

 

For the time being, however, we assume that such legal action from our part will not be necessary.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Mr. N.M.P. Steijnen