Karadzic to appear at U.N. tribunal

(CNN) - Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic (KAH-rah-jihch) faces a U.N. tribunal at The Hague, Netherlands on Friday. He will be asked to enter a plea on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Karadzic, who is representing himself, did not enter a plea at his initial tribunal appearance July 31. If he does not enter a plea Friday, the judge will enter a plea on his behalf - likely to be a plea of "not guilty."

Once a plea is entered, the pre-trial phase of the case begins. It could still take several months before the trial itself begins, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor has said.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia is trying Karadzic.