Abstract
Trials of international crimes frequently rely on a complex type of witnesses: insiders or accomplices. While harnessing essential knowledge, insiders pose serious challenges to the decision-makers assessing their credibility. Prior research suggests that judges dismiss a sizeable proportion of insider testimony during trials of international crimes. While some reasons might lie with the witnesses, a closer look at the professional practices is warranted. This study aimed to examine the process of insider witness statement assessments by international criminal justice professionals and to analyze how they resolve the tension between the concerns about witness truthfulness and the quality of the testimony. One hundred sixty practitioners took part in an experimental vignette survey. Results of qualitative analyses demonstrate that the assessments of the witness and the statement contents are interrelated: across all experimental conditions, respondents drew inferences about the quality of the testimony based on their assessment of the witness and vice versa. Furthermore, the same indicators were given various, at times contradictory, meanings, highlighting individual differences in professional practice and the noise in decision-making.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 43-68 |
| Number of pages | 26 |
| Journal | International Criminal Justice Review |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 8 Feb 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2022 Georgia State University.
Funding
I would like to thank my PhD supervisors Dr Barbora Hola and Prof Catrien Bijleveld for their extensive support in conducting this research. I am also grateful to all the respondents who took part in the study, the experts, and the NSCR colleagues who participated in the pilot of the vignettes, and everyone who helped reach the participants. Finally, my gratitude goes to the three anonymous reviewers for their considerate, insightful, and by all means, helpful, suggestions and comments. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, (grant number 406.17.519). The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, (grant number 406.17.519).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| NSCR | |
| Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek | 406.17.519 |
Keywords
- credibility
- experiment
- ICC
- international criminal justice
- Witness evidence