Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Croatia v. Serbia) - Public hearings from Monday 3 March to Tuesday 1 April 2014 - Practical information for th

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
Peace Palace, Carnegieplein 2, 2517 KJ The Hague, Netherlands
Tel.: +31 (0)70 302 2323 Fax: +31 (0)70 364 9928
Website: www.icj-cij.org

Press Release
Unofficial

No. 2014/8
20 February2014

Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment
of the Crime of Genocide (Croatia v. Serbia)

Public hearings from Monday 3 March to Tuesday 1 April 2014

Practical information for the media and the public

THE HAGUE, 20 February 2014. The Registry of the International Court of Justice (ICJ),
the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, wishes to make the following practical
information available to the press and public.

A. Special rules regard ing disclosure of the content of the testimony of witnesses and
witness-experts

As indicated in Press Release No. 2014/7, the examination of witnesses and witness-experts
at public hearings is scheduled for Tuesday 4 and Wednesday 5 March 2014 (from 3 p.m. to

6 p.m.). For the purpose of guaranteeing the sound administration of justice and taking of
evidence, and in order to enable the witnesses and witness-experts to give evidence independently,
a number of special rules will be applied.

The general public may attend the witness examinations, but are requested not to divulge
the content of testimony before the end of the oral proceedings at 11.30 a.m. on Tuesday
1 April 2014. It is recalled that a small number of seats will be al located to members of the public
on a first-come, first-served basis.

Representatives of the media will have to subscribe to a code of conduct, under the terms of
which they will be allowed to follow the examination of the witnesses and witness-experts from the
Press Room and wil l be able to take photographs and make sound recordings, on the express
condition that they do not make public the content of the testimony given by thepersons concerned
before the end of the oral proceedings at 11.30 a.m. on Tuesday 1 April 2014. The text of the code
of conduct is annexed to this press release. This document must be signed by each media
representative (journalists, technicians, assistants, etc.) when entering the Peace Palace on Tuesday
4 March and Wednesday 5 March. Any media representatives who breach this embargo will have
their accreditation withdrawn forthwith.

The v erbatim records of the hearings devoted to the examination of the witnesses and
witness-experts will not be published daily on the Court ’s website. They will be p osted online at
the end of the oral proceedings on Tuesday 1 April 2014. - 2 -

The Court reserves the right to hold certain s ittings in camera, pursuant to Article 46 of its
Statute and Article 59 of the Rules of Court.

B. Media accreditation procedure (clarification)

It is recalled that an online accreditation procedure is open to the media and that i t will close
at midnight on Wednesday 26 February 2014. Requests submitted after this deadline will not be
considered; nor will consideration be given t o r equests submitted by facsimile, e- mail or
telephone. Accredited media representatives will receive further practical information by e -mail
following the closure of the accreditation procedure.

C. Video streaming

The examinations of the witnesses and witness-experts will not be broadcast on the Internet
(neither live nor with a delay).

1. HD video streaming for the use of the televised media (H264, 1080p)

Video images of the hearings devoted to the Parties’ oral argument will be made available,
remotely, to the tel evised media by means of a high -definition streaming service, set up in
co-operation with the Television Section (UNTV) of the United Nations Department of Public
Information (UNDPI). These images (16/9 ratio) will be available in H264 high-definition format
(1080p, full HD). Media wishing to obtain these images are requested to send an e- mail to
[email protected] no later than 12 noon on Wednesday 26 February 2014. A
technician will provide assistance in establishing and testing the necessary connection.

2. Video streaming for the general public (web streaming)

It will be possible to watch the hearings devoted to the Parties ’ oral argument on two
channels: ( 1) the Court ’s website (Multimedia Gallery) ; and (2) the United Nations onli ne
television channel (webtv.un.org), under the heading “Live Now” and, later, on demand under the
heading “Meetings & Events/ICJ”. Those media wishing to include these images on their own
website may use the special embed code which is referred to in the multimedia gallery of the

Court’s website.

D. Access to the courtroom (clarification)

Photographers and camera crews will only be permitted to enter the court room for a few
minutes at the start of the first hearing of each round of oral pleadings, namely Monday
3 March 2014 and Thursday 20 March 2014 (first and second rounds of oral argument of Croatia)
and Monday 10 March 2014 and Thursday 27 March 2014 (first and second round s of oral

argument of Serbia). They will be accompanied by Registry staff members and must keep to the
right-hand side of the room. Journalists will be able to follow the hearings in the Press Room.

E. Press Room

The Press Room will be open to the media one hour prior to the start of the first hearing of
the day, and media representatives must leave the Peace Palace grounds no later than one hour after
the end of the last hearing of the day. - 3 -

F. Other media services (reminder)

For further practical information ( on audio and video outputs available , requests for
interviews, TV stand-up positions, etc.), please visit the Court ’s website. Click on “ Press Room”,
and then on “Media Services”.

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Note: The Court’s press releases do not constitute official documents

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Information Department:

Mr. Andrey Poskakukhin, First Secretary of the Court, Head of Department (+31 (0)70 302 2336)

Mr. Boris Heim, Information Officer (+31 (0)70 302 2337)
Ms Joanne Moore, Associate Information Officer (+31 (0)70 302 2394)
Ms Genoveva Madurga, Administrative Assistant (+31 (0)70 302 2396)

___________ Annex to Press Release No. 2014/8

Code of conduct for the mediaestablished for the purposes of the hearings devoted to the
examination of witnesses and witness-experts in the case concerning Application
of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of
the Crime of Genocide (Croatia v. Serbia)

The undersigned, ______________________________________ (first name and family

name), representing _________________________________________________ (name of media
organization), solemnly undertakes to abide by the code of conduct established by the International
Court of Justice for the purposes of the hearings devoted to the examination of witnesses and
witness-experts in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Preventi on and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Croatia v. Serbia).

The purpose of the code of conduct is to guarantee the sound administration of justice and
taking of evidence, and to enable the aforementioned persons to give evidence independently

without having knowledge of the other evidence given in the case.

Pursuant to this code of conduct,

 media representatives may follow the examination of witnesses and witness- experts in the
Press Room and take photographs and make sound recordings there, on the express condition
that they do not make public the content of the testimony given by the persons concerned

before the end of the oral proceedings at 11.30 a.m. on Tuesday 1 April 2014;

 any media representatives who breach this embargo will have thei r accreditation withdrawn
forthwith.

Signature:

___________