Brent Hicks appointed to monitor Serbia Contempt of Court Case

The Registrar of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, Abubacarr Tambadou, has appointed Brent Hicks as the Monitor in the contempt case against Vojislav Šešelj, Miljan Damjanović, Miroljub Ignjatović, Ljiljana Mihajlović, and Ognjen Mihajlović (Šešelj et al. case).

A statement from the Mechanism affirms that the appointment of Brent Hicks takes immediate effect.

The case involves allegations of contempt of court related to the proceedings of both the UN Mechanism and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

The defendants are accused of knowingly interfering with the administration of justice, disclosing confidential information about protected witnesses, and failing to comply with court orders to cease the publication of confidential material.

The case was referred to the Republic of Serbia (Serbia) on 29 February 2024, following a judicial decision by the Mechanism’s Single Judge, Liu Daqun.

Brent Hicks, a Legal Officer in the Office of the Registrar, is expected to monitor the progress of the proceedings in Serbia and report on their status.

In line with its mandate, the Mechanism is responsible for monitoring cases referred by the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals of Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Tanzania and the Mechanism, to national courts, pursuant to Article 6(5) of the Mechanism’s Statute and Rule 14 of its Rules of Procedure and Evidence.

In announcing the appointment of a Monitor, Registrar Tambadou stated:

“Following a judicial decision to refer the Šešelj et al. case to Serbia, I am pleased to announce the appointment of a Mechanism Monitor for these proceedings. This appointment reflects the Mechanism’s commitment to ensure that a robust and effective monitoring regime is in place for the Šešelj et al. case.”

Hicks added that he also takes this opportunity to express his appreciation for the anticipated cooperation of the Serbian authorities, which will ensure that the required monitoring is carried out successfully.