Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic enters the courtroom of the U.N.'s Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, 3 Nov. 2009Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic has appeared in court for the first time since his war crimes trial began last week, to ask for more time to prepare his defense.

The 64-year-old Karadzic, who is acting as his own attorney, refused to attend the start of his trial at the war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. He has said he needs at least 10 more months of preparation to defend himself against 11 charges of genocide and war crimes from the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.

Tuesday's administrative hearing in The Hague was called to find ways to resolve the standoff, either by continuing with the trial without the defendant, or by appointing legal counsel to represent him in his absence.

On Monday, the lead prosecutor told the tribunal that Karadzic masterminded the notorious 1995 Srebrenica massacre of as many as 8,000 Muslim men and boys.

Serbian police arrested the heavily-disguised Karadzic last year after he spent a dozen years on the run as one of the world's most wanted fugitives. 

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.