Constitutional and Institutional Developments: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: Recent Developments in Witness Protection

Extract

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is specifically charged in its Statute with the protection of victims and witnesses. This mandatory consideration is also reflected in its Rules of Procedure and Evidence (‘the Rules’). As a newly created international judicial organization, the 18 months since the very first decision granting protective measures for victims and witnesses was issued have been highly influential in identifying and laying down the basic principles upon which such protection may be granted within the context of the unique legal framework of the ICTY. The completion of the first trial has enabled the ICTY to put those principles into practice and evaluate them over a six-month period. This article will focus mainly on the experiences gained from the Tadić trial, with reference to other cases for completeness.