The Appeals Chamber considered the implications of Security Council Resolution 1503 (2003)[1] and Security Council Resolution 1534 (2004)[2] on on-going trials in light of the 31 December 2008 deadline to complete all trials. It held that when assessing these implications, the overriding consideration must be the strict adherence to the “minimum guarantees afforded to accused persons pursuant to Article 20 of the Tribunal’s Statute”:

24. The Appeals Chamber notes that the remaining Judges expressed the view that the completion of all trials by 31 December 2008 is “more of a target date”[3] and that there was “nothing to suggest that unfair decisions and actions will be taken with regard to cases that are pending on 31 December 2008.”[4] The Appeals Chamber also notes that resolution 1503 urges the Tribunal to formalise a strategy to enable the Tribunal “to achieve its objective” of completing all trials by the end of 2008[5] and calls on the Tribunal “to take all possible measures” in this regard.[6] The Appeals Chamber is of the view that when assessing the implications of resolution 1503 and resolution 1534 to on-going trials, the overriding consideration must be the strict adherence to the minimum guarantees afforded to accused persons pursuant to Article 20 of the Tribunal’s Statute. The Appeals Chamber considers that the remaining Judges properly addressed this overriding consideration and sees no error in their interpretation of their obligations in the context of resolution 1503 and resolution 1534.  The remaining Judges considered that the trial in the Applicants’ case could be completed fairly and expeditiously by 31 December 2008, by using appropriate trial management methods within their discretion and taking reasonable decisions.[7] In the event of the trial not being completed by the end of 2008, the remaining Judges stated that “reasonable decisions will be taken in the interests of justice [and] taking into account the rights of each co-Accused.”[8] The Appeals Chamber finds no error in this approach.