Tribunal (which has also been questioned on grounds of the legitimately of its establishment and other due process concerns). These are additional factors which may be taken into account when deciding which form international assistance should take: • L ack of political will. In certain situations it will be difficult to ascertain whether there exists a genuine political will to prosecute. It is important to analyse the entire criminal process rather than simply the verdict in order to make such a determination. (This is precisely what the International Criminal Court will be required to do in determining whether States are “unwilling”). A recent example may be found in the trials before the Indonesian Ad Hoc Human Rights Court on East Timor of military accused for crimes committed in what is now Timor-Leste. • International armed conflict. In the aftermath of international armed conflict between Timor-Leste and Indonesia, the international community opted for domestic trials in Indonesia and a hybrid tribunal in Timor-Leste. However, the trials of senior military officials in Indonesia have exhibited a lack of good faith to conduct serious prosecutions. The trials in Timor-Leste have shown the limitations of relying on domestic trials combined with hybrid institutions after an international armed conflict. • Ongoing conflict. Are criminal prosecutions ever appropriate during ongoing conflict? The former Yugoslavia was still in conflict at the time of the creation of ICTY. The International Criminal Court is currently investigating three ongoing conflicts (Democratic Republic of the Congo; Darfur, Sudan; and Uganda). If prosecutions are not a realistic possibility without posing undue security risks to victims and witnesses, or if they may lead to instability or further conflict, preparatory steps for evidence preservation or eventual prosecutions can still be pursued.87 A conclusion from the international experience to date is that hybrid tribunals may have several advantages over ad hoc tribunals, in terms of cost, being located in situ, with more potential to have an impact on the domestic legal system and the affected population. These advantages have created a preference for hybrid tribunals where possible. The rest of this tool therefore focuses mainly on policy considerations involving hybrids. 2. Consultation with domestic stakeholders It is essential to consult domestic actors from the outset or the approach chosen will risk being perceived as a foreign imposition. This process of consultation should seek to engage groups beyond Government representatives, such as local bar associations and civil society. If new laws 87 F or instance, in Afghanistan, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission has consulted the population extensively and documented past human rights abuses, and OHCHR has documented the situation extensively based on existing materials on crimes committed during the 23-year conflict. 31