The Hague war crimes tribunal's appeals chamber on Tuesday dismissed as groundless the prosecution's complaint about the length of one of the latest briefs by the defence team of Croatian army general Ante Gotovina.
After the defence replied to a brief filed by the prosecution as part of the appeals proceedings, the prosecution earlier this month complained about the length of the reply, claiming that because of an annex it exceeded the 15,000-word limit set by a pre-appeal judge.
The appeals chamber rejected the complaint with the explanation that the annex contained a chart related to the shelling of Knin and that, therefore, it did not constitute the presentation of new arguments and was consistent with the tribunal's rules.
Gotovina's defence on August 1 appealed a ruling sentencing him to 24 years' in jail for crimes committed during the 1995 Operation Storm. The prosecution replied to the appeal September 12, and the defence replied to that brief on September 27.
