TY - JOUR
T1 - Judicial Witness Assessments at the ICTY, ICTR and ICC
T2 - Is There ‘Standard Practice’ in International Criminal Justice?
AU - Chlevickaite, Gabriele
AU - Hola, Barbora
AU - Bijleveld, CCJH
PY - 2020/3
Y1 - 2020/3
N2 - Accurate assessment of witness testimonies underpins judicial fact-finding at international criminal courts and tribunals (ICCTs). However, the lack of formal assessment criteria and uncoordinated methods, coupled with advances in the scientific understanding of the psychology of witnessing, calls for a re-examination of the judicial practice. This study critically evaluates the state of the art of witness assessments at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and the International Criminal Court (ICC),based on all the trial judgments issued in 1996-2019. The analysis results in a consolidation of this ad hoc, constantly evolving jurisprudence, into a framework that has been in development since the 1990s. The authors reflect upon the scientific validity of the criteria used throughout the analysis, based on up-to-date findings from psychology and criminology, and identify the areas that would most benefit from standardized procedures.
AB - Accurate assessment of witness testimonies underpins judicial fact-finding at international criminal courts and tribunals (ICCTs). However, the lack of formal assessment criteria and uncoordinated methods, coupled with advances in the scientific understanding of the psychology of witnessing, calls for a re-examination of the judicial practice. This study critically evaluates the state of the art of witness assessments at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and the International Criminal Court (ICC),based on all the trial judgments issued in 1996-2019. The analysis results in a consolidation of this ad hoc, constantly evolving jurisprudence, into a framework that has been in development since the 1990s. The authors reflect upon the scientific validity of the criteria used throughout the analysis, based on up-to-date findings from psychology and criminology, and identify the areas that would most benefit from standardized procedures.
KW - ICC
KW - ICTY
KW - ICTR
KW - witnesses
KW - evidence
KW - international justice
KW - international criminal justice
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85093924355&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85093924355&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/jicj/mqaa002
DO - 10.1093/jicj/mqaa002
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85093924355
VL - 18
SP - 185
EP - 210
JO - Journal of International Criminal Justice
JF - Journal of International Criminal Justice
SN - 1478-1387
IS - 1
ER -