The Yugoslav war crimes court on Thursday, May 17 adjourned the trial of former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic, just a day after it opened, because of "irregularities" by prosecutors, AFP reports.

"The hearing is adjourned sine die," presiding judge Alphons Orie said. "(The court) has decided to suspend the start of the presentation of the prosecution evidence."

Orie said there were "irregularities" in the transfer of prosecution documents to the defense to enable it to prepare for the trial which opened in The Hague on Wednesday.

Mladic, the so-called "Butcher of Bosnia" is charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide over the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and in particular the Srebrenica massacre, the worst atrocity on European soil since World War II.