<<previous  |  index  |  next>>

VII. Recommendations

To the Special Court for Sierra Leone

To the Chambers

• To the Appeals and Trial Chambers

  o Identify and address any impediments to more consistently efficient rendering of decisions, particularly motions that have implications for the court’s full adherence to protection of the rights of the accused.

  o Consider prioritizing issuing decisions on motions that are key to upholding fair trial rights, and allocating one extra afternoon per week or every other week as necessary to dispose of such motions.

  o Continue to participate in judicial exchanges with judges from other international justice institutions on procedure and substance, including courtroom and case management, elements of crimes, theories of liability, and witness issues.

• To the Trial Chambers

  o Consistently treat witnesses with respect and dignity at all times, and ensure that all parties in the courtroom also do so.

  o Work scrupulously to ensure that as little identifying information as possible concerning protected witnesses is disclosed during court proceedings.

  o Support the work of the judicial services coordination committee to maximize courtroom usage without compromising judicial independence, and other efforts to promote efficiency without compromising the rights of the accused.

  o For Trial Chamber I, promptly participate in a briefing from staff within the Witness and Victim Support Unit regarding witnesses if it has not yet done so in order to maximize effective witness treatment in the courtroom.

To the Registry

• Ensure that all relevant staff, especially in the Witness and Victim Support Unit, are included in the development of the envisaged domestic protection unit, by considering creating a task force of relevant staff to oversee the development of this initiative and taking steps to ensure the domestic unit is composed of necessary elements (see Recommendations to Witness and Victim Support Unit for detailing of elements).

• Develop plans, in coordination with the Witness and Victim Support Unit, for the Special Court to maintain residual staff capacity to provide oversight to the envisioned domestic protection unit.

• Hold regular meetings with the Defence Office to evaluate needs and redeploy funds as necessary to ensure adequate defense expert witnesses and international investigators.
• Hold meetings with the Witness and Victim Support Unit to evaluate needs and redeploy funds as necessary to ensure that all witnesses receive a follow-up visit soon after they return after testifying.
• Document necessary redeployments to increase support to the Defence Office and Witness and Victim Support Unit to ensure that the Management Committee has adequate information concerning reallocations and thus help ensure proper allocations in the next financial period.
• Develop a few targeted and inexpensive programs to engage the national justice system, including:

o Holding monthly discussions between Special Court and national justice system judges and staff to discuss relevant subjects (such as trial and case management, fair trial standards, witness treatment, and minimum requirements for prosecuting serious crimes);

o Initiatives to increase observation of Special Court proceedings by national justice system judges and staff, other local legal professionals, and law students; and

o Promote participation in programs by personally engaging and involving possible participants from the national court system in the development of programs from the initial stages by soliciting their views about the program, deploying local Special Court staff to facilitate participation, and coordinating logistics.

• Advocate increases to the overall budget, where necessary, to ensure adequate:

o Expert witnesses and access to international investigators by defense teams;

o Training for defense counsel;

o Follow-up visits to witnesses soon after they testify;

o Creation of a domestic witness protection unit;

o Targeted initiatives to foster engagement between judges and staff of the Special Court and the national justice system; and

o Limited staff to provide oversight to the envisioned domestic witness protection unit as part of the court’s residual activities during the court’s post-completion phase.

To the Office of the Prosecutor

• Scrupulously abide by disclosure obligations to the defense at all times to ensure full protection of the accused.
• Brief relevant staff on developments to date in efforts by the Witness Management Unit to develop a domestic witness protection unit.
• Coordinate with the Registry (including through participation in a task force of relevant staff) to create a domestic protection unit that has the capacity and expertise to respond effectively to threats to the security and well-being of witnesses who testify at the Special Court (see Recommendations to Witness and Victim Support Unit).  

To the Office of the Principal Defender

• Take more steps to ensure that all members of defense teams fully participate in defense representation by:

o Monitoring the extent to which all team members participate;

o Expressing concern where full participation is not occurring; and

o Urging team members who are not fully participating to assume more responsibilities in the representation.

• Respond more aggressively where particular conduct by counsel undermines vigorous representation, by promptly intervening and providing targeted training in trial advocacy and international criminal law as necessary.
• Increase training for defense counsel in trial advocacy and international criminal law where appropriate, consider making training mandatory, and advocate for increases in funding to provide training as necessary.
• Ensure that any additional counsel assignments have demonstrable skills and adequate experience defending complex criminal cases involving international crimes, particularly for lead counsel or counsel who will likely perform a significant share of the representation.

To Witness and Victim Support

• Intensify efforts to avoid contact between protected witnesses and court observers, particularly while transporting witnesses to and from the court.

• Where threats against witnesses occur off court premises, consider strengthening action against suspected perpetrators, such as by working with local authorities to pursue prosecution in the national courts under relevant domestic offenses and develop a domestic witness protection law, and pursuing Special Court contempt proceedings.

• Intensify efforts to ensure that all witnesses receive a follow-up visit soon after they testify by:

  o Holding meetings with the Registry to evaluate needs; and

  o Request and advocate for budgetary increases for this purpose as necessary.

• Coordinate with Registry staff to create a domestic protection unit that has the capacity and expertise to respond effectively to threats to the security and well-being of witnesses who testify at the Special Court including by ensuring that the unit:

  o Is composed of male and female protection officers, including officers with experience working with victims of gender based crimes, along with psychosocial counselors;

  o Receives ongoing training in ensuring adequate witness protection; and

  o Has a mandate to monitor the security situation for witnesses and others at risk due to testimony provided at the Special Court; to communicate regularly, but discretely, with witnesses; to respond to threats to the physical and mental well-being of witnesses such as by relocating individuals where necessary; and to consider pursuing domestic prosecution of persons allegedly responsible for threats.

To the Outreach Unit

• Actively develop and implement initiatives focused on increasing observation of proceedings by targeting and facilitating attendance for a range of groups within civil society.  

To the Public Affairs Unit

• Increase radio programming by including segments whenever there are noteworthy moments in the trials or other moments that best illustrate the judicial process at the court, in addition to weekly summaries.

• Consider devoting some radio programming to traditional journalistic trial reporting as opposed to summaries, if helpful to increase programming.

To Defense Counsel Representing Accused at the Special Court

• Treat witnesses with respect and dignity at all times.

• Work scrupulously to ensure that identifying information concerning protected witnesses is not disclosed during or outside of court proceedings.

• Fully participate in defense representation and attend trainings.

To the Government of Sierra Leone

• Consider taking action against persons suspected of threatening witnesses off court premises or leaking the identity of a witness to a person who makes such a threat by:

  o Pursuing prosecution of perpetrators under relevant domestic offenses; and

  o Developing and enacting a domestic witness law.

To the members of the Management Committee of the Special Court

• Intensively lobby for funding for the Special Court to fairly and effectively complete operations and conduct necessary residual activities during the court’s post-completion phase.

• Support increases to the overall budget, where necessary, for the purposes of

  o Ensuring adequate expert witnesses and access to international investigators for defense;

  o Training for defense counsel;

  o Staffing to comprehensively conduct follow-up visits to witnesses soon after they testify;

  o Establishment and effective functioning of a domestic witness protection unit;

  o Targeted initiatives to foster engagement between judges and staff of the Special Court and the national justice system; and

  o Allocating limited residual staff to provide oversight to the envisioned domestic witness protection unit during the court’s post-completion phase.

To key donors, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands

• Redeem pledges made at the September funding conference for the Special Court.

• Make additional contributions as necessary to ensure that the court has sufficient funding to operate effectively and fairly during the final phases of its operation and post-completion.    

• Respond positively to requests for support to increases in the overall budget for the purposes listed above.

To the United Nations Secretary-General

• Intensively lobby for funding for the Special Court to fairly and effectively complete operations and conduct necessary residual activities during the court’s post-completion phase.

• Request financial assistance from the United Nations where necessary to address funding shortfalls.

To the United Nations General Assembly

• Approve remaining U.S.$7 million of the U.N. Secretary-General’s March 2004 subvention request for the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

• Authorize financial assistance for the Special Court to fairly and effectively complete operations and conduct necessary residual activities during the court’s post-completion where necessary to address funding shortfalls.

To the U.K. Department for International Development Sierra Leone Justice Sector Reform Initiative

• Identify and implement programs to maximize the short-term presence of the Special Court and its staff to positively impact the national justice system as part of the reform initiative.