TY - JOUR
T1 - Between Fact and Opinion
T2 - The Sui Generis Approach to Expert Witness Testimony in International Criminal Trials
AU - Richmond, Karen Mc Gregor
AU - Piccolo, Sebastiano Antonio
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2021
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - It is a fundamental tenet of the law of evidence, spanning all jurisdictions, that witness testimony should ideally be delivered in open court by the individual who observed the event in question, or by the expert whose technical knowledge is relied upon. A notable exception to this principle has emerged in the field of international criminal justice, where courts and tribunals may allow 'summarising witnesses' to present a summation of witness testimony. In the case of Ayyash et al., the Special Tribunal for Lebanon extended the principle, allowing voluminous expert opinion evidence to be presented in factual summation. This article analyses such approaches, utilising doctrinal methods alongside empirical Wigmorean analysis, to assess the probity of these sui generis practices. The results are placed in legal and theoretical perspective, demonstrating that international courts and tribunals are departing from an overarching obligation to integrate international and domestic standards in respect of expert testimony.
AB - It is a fundamental tenet of the law of evidence, spanning all jurisdictions, that witness testimony should ideally be delivered in open court by the individual who observed the event in question, or by the expert whose technical knowledge is relied upon. A notable exception to this principle has emerged in the field of international criminal justice, where courts and tribunals may allow 'summarising witnesses' to present a summation of witness testimony. In the case of Ayyash et al., the Special Tribunal for Lebanon extended the principle, allowing voluminous expert opinion evidence to be presented in factual summation. This article analyses such approaches, utilising doctrinal methods alongside empirical Wigmorean analysis, to assess the probity of these sui generis practices. The results are placed in legal and theoretical perspective, demonstrating that international courts and tribunals are departing from an overarching obligation to integrate international and domestic standards in respect of expert testimony.
KW - Digital forensics
KW - Evidential analysis
KW - International criminal justice
KW - Special Tribunal for Lebanon
KW - Wigmore charts
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85121258832&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1163/15718123-bja10117
DO - 10.1163/15718123-bja10117
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85121258832
SN - 1567-536X
VL - 22
SP - 1016
EP - 1043
JO - International Criminal Law Review
JF - International Criminal Law Review
IS - 5-6
ER -