Assessment of evidence

Notion(s) Filing Case
Decision - 08.04.2003 BLAGOJEVIĆ et al.
(IT-02-60-AR73, IT-02-60-AR73.2, IT-02-60-AR73.3)

22.     A Trial Chamber of the International Tribunal is in nature both a trier of fact and an arbiter of questions of law.  Authorised by the Statute and the Rules to make factual findings on the basis of evidence presented by the parties, the Trial Chamber relies on the factual findings to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused.  In that sense, the factual findings, subject to appeal and review, are parts of the truth proved beyond reasonable doubt.[1]  It does not, however, follow that the Trial Chamber, by assessing evidence presented by the parties, will be discharging some of the prosecutorial responsibilities.

[1] See Rule 87 (A) and Prosecutor v. Delalić et al., Case No. IT-96-21-A, Judgement, 20 February 2001, Appeals Chamber, par 459.  Both show that the standard of proof at trial is that of proof beyond reasonable doubt. In civil law countries, search for truth in criminal trial is regarded as a basic principle, often known as the principle of instruction: Christine van den Wyngaert et al., Criminal Procedure Systems in the European Community (Butterworths, London, 1993), pp. 18 (Belgium), 145 (Germany), 292 (Netherlands) and 324 (Portugal).  The related principle of freedom in evaluation of evidence is also common to the criminal justice systems of Continental European countries.

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Notion(s) Filing Case
Decision on Voir Dire and Statements of the Accused - 27.10.2006 NTAHOBALI & NYIRAMASUHUKO
(ICTR-97-21-AR73)

Paragraphs 12 and 13 of the Interlocutory Appeal contain the ratio of the Decision, finding that the Trial Chamber had not gone beyond the discretion allocated to it on evidentiary and procedural matters:

12. The Defence for Mr. Ntahobali argues that this procedure adopted by the Trial Chamber was impermissibly informal[1] since prior statements of an accused should be subject to an inquiry conducted “in accordance with pre-established rules of law which are known to the parties”[2] and not by merely requiring the parties to indicate their views on whether the Rules were complied with in taking the Previous Statements.[3] The Defence for Mr. Ntahobali has not identified any error in the procedure adopted by the Trial Chamber. The voir dire procedure originates from the common law and does not have a strictly defined process in this Tribunal.[4] There are no provisions in the Rules which direct Trial Chambers to adopt a formal procedure for determining whether they should conduct a voir dire. Instead, Rule 89(B) of the Rules provides that reference may be made to evidentiary rules “which will best favour a fair determination of the matter”. This discretion can extend to the conduct of a voir dire procedure when it is determined appropriate by the Trial Chamber.[5] The procedure conducted by the Trial Chamber permitted the parties to make submissions as to whether the Prosecution and Co-Accused could use the Previous Statements to impeach Mr. Ntahobali. The Trial Chamber considered the submissions of the parties on whether it was necessary to grant the request for a voir dire procedure by the Defence of Mr. Ntahobali, and after finding that it was not necessary, the Trial Chamber determined the admissibility of the Previous Statements on the basis of the submissions made by the parties. At several stages during the hearing[6] the Trial Chamber affirmed that this was the procedure to be followed, in particular when it stated:

We would like to hear the challenge, the basis of the challenge [to the admissibility of the Previous Statements]. And in the process, certainly, the Trial Chamber will examine the [admissibility] issue, including whether to determine the issue as presently presented, or whether there would be any need for voir – for trial within a trial, voir dire.[7]   

13. Therefore, the parties were informed of the procedure the Trial Chamber was adopting and made submissions pursuant to this procedure.[8] Indeed, the procedure adopted by the Trial Chamber, while characterised as one adopted to determine whether a voir dire procedure was necessary, was very similar to a voir dire. The Trial Chamber heard the parties on the circumstances surrounding the taking of the Previous Statements, admitting a written affidavit from Mr. Ntahobali into evidence on that issue, and decided that no further evidence was required to determine whether the Previous Statements were in accordance with the Rules. The Appeals Chamber does not see any abuse of the Trial Chamber’s discretion in the way that it chose to proceed.

[1] [The Prosecutor v. Arsène Shalom Ntahobali and Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, Case No. ICTR-97-21-AR73 (Joint Case No. ICTR-98-42-T), Appel de l’Accusé Arsène Shalom Ntahobali à l’Encontre de la Décision Intitulée “Decision on Kanyabashi’s Oral Motion to Cross-Examine Ntahobali Using Ntahobali’s Statements to Prosecution Investigators in July 1997”, 8 June 2006 (“Interlocutory Appeal”)], para. 5.

[2] Interlocutory Appeal, para. 8.

[3] Interlocutory Appeal, para. 6.

[4] As an example of the flexibility with which the voir dire procedure is utilised at trial, voir dire examinations have previously been deferred to the cross-examination stage in determining a Witness’s qualification as an Expert Witness: Prosecutor v. Muvunyi, Case No. ICTR-2000-55A-T, Decision on the Prosecutor’s Motion for Admission of Testimony of Expert Witness Rule 92bis of the Rules, 24 March 2005, para. 27. See also [ The Prosecutor v. [efer Halilović, Case No. IT-01-48-AR73.2, Decision on Interlocutory Appeal Concerning Admission of Record of Interview of the Accused from the Bar Table, 19 August 2005, para. 5 (“Halilović Decision”)], para. 46 finding that a voir dire procedure is not necessarily required for identifying the voluntariness of an interview of an accused, although “there may be certain advantages in doing so.”

[5] Halilović Decision, para. 46.

[6]T. 9 May 2006, pp. 3, 16, 42; T. 15 May 2006, p. 16.

[7]T. 9 May 2003, p. 16.

[8] See the full submissions on T. 8 May 2006 pp. 76-78; T. 9 May 2006; T. 15 May 2006. 

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ICTR Rule Rule 89(B)
Notion(s) Filing Case
Appeal Judgement - 04.12.2001 KAYISHEMA & RUZINDANA
(ICTR-95-1-A)

115.    […] [I]t is the duty of the trial Judges to hear, assess and weigh the evidence adduced by the parties at the hearing.[1] The Trial Chamber thus determines if a witness is credible and if the evidence presented is reliable.[2]

[…]

129.    The Appeals Chamber affirms once again that it is incumbent on the Trial Chamber to assess the credibility of a witness as well as the reliability of the evidence given by the parties.  Therefore, the Appeals Chamber cannot and must not set aside the Trial Judge’s findings except when a reasonable court would not have relied on the evidence for its decision or when the assessment of the evidence is completely erroneous.  The Appeals Chamber stresses that it is the duty of the Trial Chamber to determine the probative value of each exhibit or witness testimony, based on their relevance and credibility.

[…]

187.    […] As held by the Appeals Chamber in the Tadić Appeal Judgement,[3] the Aleksovski Appeal Judgement[4] and the Čelebići Appeal Judgement,[5] the Trial Chamber is best placed to hear, assess and weigh the evidence, including witness testimonies presented at trial. Whether a Trial Chamber will rely upon a single witness testimony as proof of a material fact, will depend on various factors that have to be assessed in light of the circumstances of each case. The Appeals Chamber therefore has to give a margin of deference to the Trial Chamber’s evaluation of the evidence presented at trial.

[…]

222.    As regards the impugned demeanour of certain witnesses which should have “reasonably” caused the Trial Chamber to disqualify them, the Appeals Chamber is of the view that the trial judges are in the most appropriate position to assess the credibility of a testimony and the demeanor of a witness at a hearing. […]

[…]

230.    Moreover, it is for the trier of fact to assess the probative value of a testimony, such discretionary power also covering the manner in which the Trial Chamber decides to deal with apparent contradictions. […]

[…]

319.    […] [I]t is neither possible nor proper to draw up an exhaustive list of criteria for the assessment of evidence, given the specific circumstances of each case and the duty of the judge to rule on each case in an impartial and independent manner.[6] The Appeals Chamber concurs with the argument of the Trial Chamber that it is “for the Trial Chamber to decide upon the reliability of the witness’ testimony in light of its presentation in court and after its subjection to cross-examination.”[7]

[…]

325.    […] The Appeals Chamber affirms that in a case where there are two conflicting testimonies, it falls to the Trial Chamber, before which the witnesses testified, to decide which of the testimonies has more weight.

[1] Tadić Appeal Judgement, 1999, para. 64.

[2] Aleksovski Appeal Judgement, 2000, para. 63

[3] Tadić Appeal Judgement, para. 65.

[4] Aleksovski Appeal Judgement, para. 63.

[5] Čelibići Appeal Judgement, para. 506.

[6] Cf. supra, para. 54 et seq. on the independence of  the Tribunal.

[7] Trial Judgement, para. 70.

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ICTR Statute Article 24 ICTY Statute Article 25
Notion(s) Filing Case
Appeal Judgement - 14.12.2015 NYIRAMASUHUKO et al. (Butare)
(ICTR-98-42-A)

1405.            With respect to Ntahobali’s argument regarding the lack of caution exercised by the Trial Chamber in assessing his co-accused’s evidence, the Appeals Chamber considers that Ntahobali does not demonstrate that the Trial Chamber was required, as a matter of law, to treat all the evidence presented by his co-accused with caution[1] […]

See also para. 1292.

[1] Ntahobali again simply refers to a paragraph in the Nchamihigo Appeal Judgement, which concerns the treatment of accomplice witness evidence. However, Ntahobali does not demonstrate that any witness he contends the Trial Chamber failed to treat with caution was an accomplice witness whose evidence required a cautious assessment. See Ntahobali Appeal Brief, para. 412, referring to Nchamihigo Appeal Judgement, para. 46.

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Notion(s) Filing Case
Appeal Judgement - 14.12.2015 NYIRAMASUHUKO et al. (Butare)
(ICTR-98-42-A)

561. The Appeals Chamber considers that a witness’s membership in an association of survivors alone does not imply a desire or motive to implicate the accused, nor does it render the witness’s evidence tainted or his accounts unreliable or partial. The Appeals Chamber therefore sees no reason to require, as a matter of principle, a trial chamber to apply particular caution in treating the evidence of witnesses who are members of such associations. The Appeals Chamber also recalls its position that a “statement by Professor Reynt[j]ens that the Ibuka Organization paid people to give false evidence cannot, per se, constitute a sufficient ground for excluding, in a general manner, the testimony of Prosecution witnesses”.[1]

[1] Rutaganda Appeal Judgement, para. 205.

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Notion(s) Filing Case
Appeal Judgement - 19.03.2019 KARADŽIĆ Radovan
(MICT-13-55-A)

363. The Appeals Chamber will address Karadžić’s allegations in turn. Before doing so, the Appeals Chamber recalls that trial chambers have a broad discretion in weighing evidence[1] and are best placed to assess the credibility of a witness and the reliability of the evidence adduced.[2] In the context of the deference accorded to a trier of fact with respect to the assessment of evidence, it is within a trial chamber’s discretion, inter alia, to: (i) evaluate any inconsistencies that may arise within or among witnesses’ testimonies and consider whether the evidence taken as a whole is reliable and credible, and to accept or reject the fundamental features of the evidence;[3] (ii) decide, in the circumstances of each case, whether corroboration of evidence is necessary or to rely on uncorroborated, but otherwise credible, witness testimony;[4] and (iii) accept a witness’s testimony, notwithstanding inconsistencies between the said testimony and the witness’s previous statements, as it is for the trial chamber to determine whether an alleged inconsistency is sufficient to cast doubt on the evidence of the witness concerned.[5]

See also para. 530.

[…]

376. […] [T]he Appeals Chamber recalls that the mere assertion that the Trial Chamber failed to give sufficient weight to evidence or that it should have interpreted evidence in a particular manner is liable to be summarily dismissed.[6]

[1] Ngirabatware Appeal Judgement, para. 69; Šainović et al. Appeal Judgement, para. 490.

[2] Popović et al. Appeal Judgement, para. 513; Šainović et al. Appeal Judgement, para. 464. See also Lukić and Lukić Appeal Judgement, para. 296.

[3] Popović et al. Appeal Judgement, para. 1228; Karemera and Ngirumpatse Appeal Judgement, para. 467; Nzabonimana Appeal Judgement, para. 319.

[4] Popović et al. Appeal Judgement, paras. 243, 1009; Gatete Appeal Judgement, paras. 125, 138; Ntawukulilyayo Appeal Judgement, para. 21; Dragomir Milošević Appeal Judgement, para. 215.

[5] Lukić and Lukić Appeal Judgement, para. 234; Hategekimana Appeal Judgement, para. 190; Kajelijeli Appeal Judgement, para. 96.

[6] Karemera and Ngirumpatse Appeal Judgement, para. 179.

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