War crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic will appear before the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague for the first time on Thursday when he will be asked to enter a plea to the charges against him.

The former Bosnian Serb leader, who is accused of genocide for his actions in the 1992-95 Bosnia war, will go before judge Alphons Orie.

The indictment is usually read at a suspect's initial court appearance but Karadzic can ask that only the charges, effectively a shorter summary of the indictment, are read, or that the indictment is not read at all.

He will be asked to enter a plea. If he refuses, proceedings will be adjourned and he will have 30 days to consider before he is again asked to enter a plea. If he still refuses, a plea of "not guilty" will be entered for him.

Karadzic arrived in the Netherlands earlier on a flight from Serb capital Belgrade.

The Serb government said the extradition had been approved by the Justice Ministry and the Belgrade district court for his actions in the 1992-95 Bosnian war.

The transfer followed disturbances on the streets of the Belgrade where ultra-nationalist Karadzic supporters clashed with police during a large demonstration.

Karadzic landed in Rotterdam just after 6am before being transferred by helicopter to the Scheveningen detention facility near The Hague.

He faces two charges of genocide for the 43-month siege of Sarajevo and the 1995 massacre of some 8,000 Muslims at Srebrenica, the worst atrocity in Europe since World War Two.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia said in statement: "Radovan Karadzic was today transferred into the Tribunal's custody, after having been at large for more than 13 years."

He was arrested last week after 11 years on the run, most recently living under an assumed name as a bearded, long-haired alternative healer.

Karadzic will be brought before the court for an initial appearance in the coming days, at which he will have an opportunity to plead guilty or not guilty.

Relatives said he is in good spirits and preparing for his defence. He has had two suits delivered for his court appearance, one light, one dark.

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