26. The Appeals Chamber recalls that in the Karemera et al. case, it endorsed the following reasoning of the ICTY Appeals Chamber in the Orić case:

The Appeals Chamber has long recognised that “the principle of equality of arms between the prosecutor and accused in a criminal trial goes to the heart of the fair trial guarantee.” At a minimum, “equality of arms obliges a judicial body to ensure that neither party is put at a disadvantage when presenting its case,” certainly in terms of procedural equity. This is not to say, however, that an [a]ccused is necessarily entitled to precisely the same amount of time or the same number of witnesses as the Prosecution. The Prosecution has the burden of telling an entire story, of putting together a coherent narrative and proving every necessary element of the crimes charged beyond a reasonable doubt. Defence strategy, by contrast, often focuses on poking specifically targeted holes in the Prosecution’s case, an endeavour which may require less time and fewer witnesses. This is sufficient reason to explain why a principle of basic proportionality, rather than a strict principle of mathematical equality, generally governs the relationship between the time and witnesses allocated to the two sides.[3]

The Appeals Chamber considered that all parties were not entitled to call precisely equal numbers of witnesses and the Trial Chamber has the discretion to limit the number of witnesses a party may call. This discretion may be exercised pursuant to Rules 73bis and 73ter of the Rules. Where the Trial Chamber exercises this discretion, it must be subject to the full respect of the rights of the party concerned. In cases where an exercise of this discretion leads to a situation where one party has more witnesses than the other, this does not necessarily mean that the principle of equality of arms is violated.