New delays feared as judge in Milosevic trial resigns for health reasons

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2004

THE HAGUE (AFP) — British judge Richard May, who presides over the war crimes trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, will resign due to ill health, officials at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) said.

The sudden resignation of May, 65, is a big setback for the court and likely to cause new delays in a case that has already dragged on for two years.

Under the tribunal's rules the resignation could mean the former Yugoslav president will get a retrial but legal experts dismiss this option as only a very slight possibility.

May's resignation will be effective May 31. The British presiding judge was known for his firm hand with Milosevic, often turning off the microphone when the former president launched into...