Background: the Prosecution disclosed to the Defence a judgement of a Rwandan court that implicated a Prosecution witness right before that witness testified. The Defence requested that the Trial Chamber stay the proceedings. In the present interlocutory appeal, the Appellant (Defence) argued that the Trial Chamber erred as a matter of law by failing to provide him with adequate time and facilities to prepare his defence in violation of his rights under Article 20(4)(b) of the Statute.

The Appeals Chamber recalled the standard of review with regard to adjournment and found that the Trial Chamber did not abuse its discretion in finding that, in the circumstances of the case, no prejudice resulted from the late disclosures. The Appeals Chamber held that a Trial Chamber can “control the progress of the proceedings as appropriate, provided that it does not encroach on fair trial rights”.

See paras 7-8:

7. The Prosecution’s obligation to disclose potentially exculpatory material is essential to a fair trial.[1] However, not every violation of this important obligation implicates a violation of an accused’s fair trial rights, warranting a remedy.[2] If a Rule 68 disclosure is extensive, parties are entitled to request an adjournment in order to properly prepare themselves.[3] The authority best placed to determine what time is sufficient for an accused to prepare his defence is the Trial Chamber conducting the case.[4]

8. Mr. Nzirorera raised the issue of his need for investigations arising from the late disclosure before the Trial Chamber.[5] In the Impugned Decision, the Trial Chamber expressly considered the impact of the late disclosure on Mr. Nzirorera’s ability to prepare for Witness UB’s testimony and determined that the late disclosure would not interfere with an effective cross-examination.[6] Furthermore, the Trial Chamber noted that it would provide appropriate additional relief on a case-by-case basis and indicated that it might be appropriate to recall the witness if further investigations warranted additional cross-examination.[7] In the present circumstances, the Appeals Chamber cannot say that the Trial Chamber abused its discretion in declining to stay the proceedings. The Appeals Chamber considers that in long and complicated cases, it is necessary for a Trial Chamber to exercise its discretion to control the progress of the proceedings as appropriate, provided that it does not encroach on fair trial rights.[8]