Radovan Karadzic yesterday refused to respond to charges of war crimes including genocide during his second appearance in the dock at The Hague, and had formal pleas of not guilty on 11 counts entered into the record by the judge.

The former Bosnian Serb leader, dressed in a dark jacket and sporting his trademark quiff, dismissed the tribunal as a "Nato court" and managed a couple of jokes as he bantered with the judge about his belief that he would be found not guilty of orchestrating tens of thousands of killings in the bloody Yugoslav conflicts of the 1990s and the ethnic cleansing that displaced many thousands more.

Dr Karadzic, 63, appeared relaxed and in better health than the deathly pale figure who was first brought before the court on July 31 after nearly 13 years on the run from international justice.

The hearing was over in just 24 minutes after Ian Bonomy, the judge, kept Dr Karadzic on a tight leash and scheduled a "status conference" for him to air his many grievances against the process. Mr Bonomy also strongly rebuked the prosecution for failing to have an up-to-date indictment ready.

Insisting on representing himself, Dr Karadzic said that he would not enter his own pleas because of the planned changes to the indictment, and because he had not yet completed his team of advisers.

But far from boycotting proceedings, he showed a willingness to engage with the court by standing - after a moment's pause - when Mr Bonomy asked him to rise to hear the charges against him.

Dr Karadzic faces one count of genocide and one of complicity in genocide relating to the killings of Bosnian Muslims, including the Srebrenica massacre of 1995; five counts of crimes agaisnt humanity; three of violating the laws or customs of war, including one in relation to the seige of Sarajevo, and one count of breaching the Geneva Conventions.

The defendant joked with the judge after being told that the formal plea of "not guilty" would be made on his behalf if he said nothing in response to the charges.

"I would rather hear you saying that at the end of the trial than at the beginning," he said with a slight smile to himself and a shrug of the shoulders.

A few minutes later, after refusing to plea when read the first and most serious charge of genocide, Mr Bonomy told him that he was entering "not guilty" pleas to all counts.

"May I hold you to your word?" said Dr Karadzic, speaking in Serbian, his words relayed by a translator.

"Which word?" said Mr Bonomy.

Grinning, Dr Karadzic said: "That I am not guilty."

The judge allowed himself a brief smile and replied: "We shall see in due course Mr Karadzic."

Mr Bonomy, 62, one of Scotland's top judges, was chosen for this hearing because of his no-nonsense approach. His skills were honed presiding over the trial of Slobodan Milosevic, the former Serb president who dragged out proceedings through ill-health and delaying tactics and died in custody in The Hague before a verdict could be reached.

"I will not plead, in line with my standpoint as regards to this court," Dr Karadzic said when Mr Bonomy asked for his formal plea to the count of genocide.

"This court is representing itself falsely as a court of the international community, whereas it is in fact a court of Nato whose aim is to liquidate me," he added. The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia was set up by the United Nations.

Mr Bonomy testily asked the prosecution why they had not completed the final version of the indictment against Dr Karadzic and said he was "surprised" that the work was only being done now that he was under arrest.

Alan Tieger, for the prosecution, told the court that they had to take account of all the other cases concluded since the original indictment was filed in 2000 and promised to complete the new charge sheet by the last week of September.

Dr Karadzic has filed ten submissions detailing various complaints, including the claim that he was offered immunity from prosecution by Richard Holbrooke, the former US assistant secretary of state, in return for his withdrawal from public life. Mr Holbrooke has strongly denied that any such deal with done. But Mr Bonomy set up a day for Dr Karadzic to air his grievances in court as he adjourned the case until September 17.

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