In Resolution 1837 on 29 September, the United Nations Security Council extended the terms of office of a total of 41 judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

The extension of the contracts of the judges—27 of whom are ad litem or temporary judges—means that the trial of Momčilo Perišić, the former Chief of the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army, can now get underway.

The start of the Perišić trial has been postponed three times since April 2007. In a Status Conference on 24 September 2008, Judge Moloto of South Africa explained that the trial could not begin until the contract extensions had taken place as the Perišić case will not be completed by September 2009 - the previous date on which the ad litum judges’ terms were set to expire.

A Pre-Trial Conference is scheduled for Wednesday 1 October and the trial could commence later in the week.

In total, four Appeals Chamber judges have had their terms extended until the end of 2010, ten permanent judges until the end of 2009, and the remaining ad litem judges until 31 December 2009, or until the completion of the cases to which they are assigned.

Momčilo Perišić