At a pre-trial hearing held in The Hague last week, Judge Julia Sebutinde of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, SCSL, said that it was necessary to set a tentative date to avoid delays, and help the parties and the bench to “focus”.
Taylor, said Judge Sebutinde, has already been in custody for some time and has the right “to be tried without delay”.
"By the end of February, he will have been in jail for over a year, and after a year it becomes inordinate delay," she said.
The judge added that her SCSL colleagues were also keen to set a provisional trial date.
Taylor arrived in The Netherlands last June after a UN security council resolution passed his case to the International Criminal Court, ICC, in The Hague.
It was decided that there was too great a security risk to hold his trial in Freetown, where the SCSL is based.
Taylor’s defence counsel, Karim Khan, said he thought it “a fabulous idea” to set a provisional trial date.
But he argued that April was too soon, adding that the defence was unlikely to be ready for trial until September 2007, because of the amount of evidence it had to review.
Khan warned against submitting to financial and political pressure to start the trial early.
"To rush to judgement, to satisfy public opinion ... is unfair and unnecessary and has the potential for a grave miscarriage of justice," he said.
He likened the charged atmosphere in the run-up to the trial to “an Alice in Wonderland world…where people have been saying, ‘Off with his head!’”
Judge Sebutinde rebuked Khan for his “tone”, reminding him that “this court is known for its courtesy”.
Dressed in a well-cut suit grey suit and brown tie, Taylor listened impassively to the proceedings.
He was first indicted by the SCSL in March 2003, for his alleged role in the bloody ten-year conflict in Sierra Leone, during which tens of thousands of people were displaced, mutilated, and killed.
He has pleaded not guilty to all 11 charges of the indictment, which was amended in March this year.
If convicted, he faces a life sentence.
Taylor, said Judge Sebutinde, has already been in custody for some time and has the right “to be tried without delay”.
"By the end of February, he will have been in jail for over a year, and after a year it becomes inordinate delay," she said.
The judge added that her SCSL colleagues were also keen to set a provisional trial date.
Taylor arrived in The Netherlands last June after a UN security council resolution passed his case to the International Criminal Court, ICC, in The Hague.
It was decided that there was too great a security risk to hold his trial in Freetown, where the SCSL is based.
Taylor’s defence counsel, Karim Khan, said he thought it “a fabulous idea” to set a provisional trial date.
But he argued that April was too soon, adding that the defence was unlikely to be ready for trial until September 2007, because of the amount of evidence it had to review.
Khan warned against submitting to financial and political pressure to start the trial early.
"To rush to judgement, to satisfy public opinion ... is unfair and unnecessary and has the potential for a grave miscarriage of justice," he said.
He likened the charged atmosphere in the run-up to the trial to “an Alice in Wonderland world…where people have been saying, ‘Off with his head!’”
Judge Sebutinde rebuked Khan for his “tone”, reminding him that “this court is known for its courtesy”.
Dressed in a well-cut suit grey suit and brown tie, Taylor listened impassively to the proceedings.
He was first indicted by the SCSL in March 2003, for his alleged role in the bloody ten-year conflict in Sierra Leone, during which tens of thousands of people were displaced, mutilated, and killed.
He has pleaded not guilty to all 11 charges of the indictment, which was amended in March this year.
If convicted, he faces a life sentence.
