ABSTRACT
This introductory chapter begins by discussing current scholarship on traumatised witnesses and their relevance during international trials, after which the identified competing objectives to balance during criminal proceedings – namely, the needs of witnesses who testify about traumatic experiences, the fair trial rights of the accused and the objective of the court to establish as accurately as possible facts relevant to determine the responsibility of the accused. It is explained how striking a balance between these three aspects aims to ensure that witnesses are able to testify in an environment that allows for fair and accurate fact-finding, and that to analyse this, this book takes an unprecedented comprehensive approach by addressing the stages of selecting, preparing, presenting and assessing the testimonial evidence of traumatised witnesses. This chapter further addresses the differences between the chosen courts and tribunals for analysis, namely, the International Criminal Court, the Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the Dutch Court in The Hague. In addition, the chosen methodology to examine and analyse transcripts of proceedings of a selected number of cases is explained in light of findings, conclusions and limitations.
