6
Dec. 45
DR.
STAHMER: As defense counsel for the Defendant Göring,
I object to the use of this document which is an
extract from testimony given by the Defendant Göring.
Since the defendant is present here in court, he
can at any time be called to the stand and give
direct evidence on this subject before the
Tribunal.
THE PRESIDENT: Is that your
objection?
DR. STAHMER: Yes.
THE
PRESIDENT: The Tribunal does not understand the
ground of your objection, in view of Article 15
(c) and Article 16 (b) and (c) of the Charter.
Article 15 (c) provides that the Chief
Prosecutors shall undertake, among others, the
duty of "the preliminary examination of all
necessary witnesses and of the defendants";
and Article 16 provides that:
"In
order to ensure fair trial for the
defendants, the following procedure
shall be followed: . . . (b) During any
preliminary examination . . . of a
defendant he shall have the right to
give any explanation relevant to the
charges made against him; (c) A
preliminary examination of a defendant .
. . shall be conducted in, or translated
into, a language which the defendant
understands."
Those
provisions of the Charter, in the opinion of the
Tribunal, show that the defendants may be
interrogated and that their interrogations may
be put in evidence.
DR. STAHMER: I was
prompted by the idea that when it is possible to
call a witness, direct examination in court is
preferable, since the evidence thus obtained is
more concrete.
THE PRESIDENT: You
certainly have the opportunity of summoning the
defendant for whom you appear to give evidence
himself, but that has nothing to do with the
admissibility of his interrogation — his
preliminary examination.
LT. COL.
GRIFFITH-JONES: This extract is TC-90, which I
put in as GB-64. I quote from the middle of the
first answer. It is at the end of the 7th line.
The Defendant Göring says there:
"On
the day when England gave her official
guarantee to Poland, the Führer
called me on the telephone and told me
that he had stopped the planned invasion
of Poland. I asked him then whether this
was just temporary or for good. He said
'No, I will have to see whether we can
eliminate British intervention.' "
THE
PRESIDENT: Ought you not read the question
before the answer?
LT. COL.
GRIFFITH-JONES: I go back to the question: