Judgments and Judgment Drafting

2020 ◽  
pp. 282-306
Author(s):  
Thomas Wayde Pittman ◽  
Marko Divac Öberg
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Support Staff ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
Judicial Decision ◽  
Judicial Decision Making ◽  
Significant Length ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Important Purpose

One of the legacies of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) will be its many trial and appeal judgments with significant length. These are accompanied by a ‘reasoned opinion in writing’ which drastically varies in size. Those written reasoned opinions, also referred to as judgments, serve an important formal and tangible purpose. They are intergovernmental judicial decision-making records of judicially-determined factual and legal findings and conclusions concerning atrocities committed in the former Yugoslavia. Politically, they serve a less tangible, but no less important, purpose—as the Tribunal’s contribution to the restoration and maintenance of peace in the former Yugoslavia. Yet, for possessing such importance, little is known about how the judgments come into existence. Who drafts them and how and what are the stages? Who are the legal support staff involved? What determines structure, content, language, and style? How is an opinion ‘reasoned’? What has been the impact of ICTY judgments? This chapter seeks to answer these questions.

Mimoprávní vlivy na rozhodování českého Ústavního soudu

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hubert Smekal ◽  
Jaroslav Benák ◽  
Monika Hanych ◽  
Ladislav Vyhnánek ◽  
Štěpán Janků
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Strategic Decision ◽  
Strategic Decision Making ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Judicial Decision ◽  
Judicial Decision Making ◽  
The Media ◽  
Book Studies ◽  
The Impact

The book studies other than purely legal factors that influence the Czech Constitutional Court judges in their decision-making. The publication is inspired by foreign models of judicial decision-making and discusses their applicability in the Czech environment. More specifically, it focuses, for example, on the influence of the judge’s personality, collegiality, strategic decision-making or the impact of public opinion and the media. The book is based mainly on interviews with current constitutional judges.

scholarly journals Review of Some Procedural Witness Protective Measures at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (34) ◽  
pp. 251
Author(s):  
Romina Beqiri
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Fair Trial ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
Protective Measures ◽  
Balkan Region ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

Given the spread terror and the abuses perpetrated in the Balkan region, many victims and witnesses of atrocities were deterred from testifying. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY or Tribunal) facilitated the appearance of witnesses and protected them in case of intimidation including by taking measures against those who would violate the confidentiality of the proceedings. This article aims to introduce some of the witness protective measures before the Tribunal, and particularly threats and risks they have faced in the context of the cases dealt with by the Tribunal. It reflects also upon groundbreaking measures of protection decided by the Tribunal and the challenges it has faced over the last two decades. It finally discusses the impact of such challenges on the right to a fair trial and how they were addressed.

Translating and Interpreting at the ICTY

2020 ◽  
pp. 337-354
Author(s):  
Ellen Elias-Bursać
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
Evidence Translation ◽  
To Come ◽  
The Impact

Procedures developed at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in response to issues concerning evidence translation and testimony interpretation have provided international criminal courts and tribunals with expertise and insight. These will shape the profession for decades to come. As to the impact on jurisprudence, the Conference and Language Service Section (CLSS), being part of Registry, played a key—often underestimated—role in ensuring the equality of arms between the parties. In a larger sense, the provisional nature of translated texts and interpreted testimony encourages challenges and disputes, and these discussions move the proceedings to a greater understanding; precisely because the obstacles presented by dealing with other languages and cultures force everyone in the courtroom to pay more attention to communication and meaning. It is this constant querying of what everyone thought they did or did not understand that takes these complex trials to completion and comprehension.

scholarly journals The Value of Behavioral Economics for EU Judicial Decision-Making

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 240-264
Author(s):  
Christoph K. Winter
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Behavioral Economics ◽  
Hindsight Bias ◽  
Judicial Decision ◽  
Behavioral Economic ◽  
Judicial Decision Making ◽  
Fundamental Freedoms ◽  
Cognitive Illusions ◽  
Proportionality Test ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThis Article analyzes the value of behavioral economics for EU judicial decision-making. The first part introduces the foundations of behavioral economics by focusing on cognitive illusions, prospect theory, and the underlying distinction between different processes of thought. The second part examines the influence of selected biases and heuristics, namely the anchoring effect, availability bias, zero-risk bias, and hindsight bias on diverse legal issues in EU law including, among others, the scope of the fundamental freedoms, the proportionality test as well as the roles of the Advocate General and Reporting Judge. The Article outlines how behavioral economic findings can be taken into account to improve judicial decision-making. Accordingly, the adaptation of judicial training concerning cognitive illusions, the establishment of a de minimis rule regarding the scope of the fundamental freedoms, and the use of economic models when determining the impact of certain measures on fundamental freedoms is suggested. Finally, an “unbiased jury” concentrating exclusively on specific factual issues such as causal connections within the proportionality test is necessary, if the hindsight bias is to be avoided. While it is of great importance to take behavioral economic findings into account, judicial decision-making is unlikely to become flawless based on natural intelligence. Despite bearing fundamental risks, artificial intelligence may provide means to achieve greater fairness, consistency, and legal certainty in the future.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document