The pre-trial conference is a final preparatory hearing before the trial proper, tentatively set for October 19th, at which the judge is granted greater authority to order the prosecution to restrict the number of charges brought agains the defendant.

In the case of Karadzic, judges have already reqeatedly appealed to prosecutors to reduce the 11 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide levelled at the former leader. But thus far, their response has been to make only minor adjustments to their indictment.

The ICTY is keen to avoid a repeat of the trial of former Serb President, Slobodan Milosevic, who died five years into his trial before he could be brought to bear for the war crimes charges laid against him.

Appeal for preparation

Last month, Karadzic filed an appeal against the decision to start his real trial on October 19th. He said the decision was "so unfair or unreasonable as to constitute an abuse" of the court's discretion.

In his appeal document, he told the ICTY, before which he will be presenting his own case, that he needed more time to read through more than 900,000 pages of prosecution papers in order to be prepared for the trial.

He said in light of the extent and the gravity of the case, he ought to be entitled to more time and that a failure to grant him such, would render his trial "fundamentally unfair" from the beginning.

Among the charges brought against Karadzic are the 44-month siege of Sarajevo during which some 10,000 people died, and the murder of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in a massacre in the village of Srebrenica.

The Serb military chief during the Bosnia War, Radko Mladic, is accused of the same crimes, but is still on the run.

tkw/dpa/AFP
Editor: Trinity Hartman