The former Yugoslav President, Slobodan Milosevic, was ordered to undergo fresh health checks yesterday, as war crimes judges said they may appoint a defence lawyer to stand in for him during any future bouts of illness.
The ruling, designed to break the cycle of delays to a trial that began in
2002, followed the failure of Milosevic to open his defence due to ill health.
However the judges said there is no evidence at this stage to suggest that he is too sick to stand trial, and rescheduled the start of Milosevic's defence for next Wednesday.
Despite his high blood pressure, which has put him at risk of a heart attack, Milosevic is conducting his own defence against a host of war crimes charges, including genocide in Bosnia and crimes against humanity in Kosovo and Croatia in the 1990s.
Any attempt to foist a defence counsel on him will be vehemently resisted by the defendant.
Yesterday's decision by the trial judges means that a fresh medical opinion will be delivered to the judges as soon as possible. In the meantime they will consult on a possible defence counsel.
One possibility is that the court will seek to line up one of the Amicus Curiae to defend Milosevic if he is too ill to appear. This would avoid the need for the defence lawyer to research the case which began in February 2002.
