text: The Protection of Victims in War Crimes Trials | SpringerLink
  Victims of International Crimes: An Interdisciplinary Discourse pp 149-163 | Cite as
  Daniela KravetzEmail author
  International criminal courts and tribunals rely mainly on victim testimony to establish the occurrence of war crimes. These institutions face important challenges in protecting victims. Many victims are reluctant to provide testimony in fear of retaliation. For these persons, testifying requires an act of courage, especially because persons allegedly involved in the crimes still walk the streets of their villages and towns. International courts have developed protection mechanisms to address the security concerns of victims. In doing so, they have had to reconcile the conflicting rights of victims and defendants. The experience of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia captures some of the challenges faced by international courts in victim protection. It also provides valuable lessons to future courts.
  Victims Protective measures Contempt Witness intimidation International criminal justice War crimes trials
  The author is Trial Attorney, Office of the Prosecution, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The views expressed herein are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia or the United Nations in general. The author thanks Priya Gopalan for her helpful comments on an earlier version of this chapter.
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  1.Office of the ProsecutionInternational Criminal Tribunal for the Former YugoslaviaThe HagueThe Netherlands
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