mandated to render assistance to the Special Court.92 This cost the Special Court considerable time and resources in terms of duplicating structures to enable its establishment. Moreover, two transitional justice policies were being pursued at once in Sierra Leone, one of criminal justice and one of truth and reconciliation. On occasion, the two approaches collided. All of this speaks for a coordinated approach in any international intervention. A coordinated approach should ensure that international efforts to investigate past crimes and to restore the domestic legal system are complementary and mutually supportive.93 C. Capacity considerations 1. Balance between domestic and international capacity One key challenge in designing a hybrid approach is to bolster capacity and impartiality, while maintaining local legitimacy. A thorough assessment of domestic capacity at the planning phase should help to guard against over-internationalization, which may detract from local legitimacy. Staffing hybrids with too many internationals may be unnecessary and could lead to local resentment. Also, in the past, the international community has tended to bolster investigative and judicial capacity while neglecting areas like the defence and court administration.94 In fact, international expertise and personnel may be most required: • In technical capacities where domestic capacity may be lacking, such as forensics; • In roles where internationals are at less risk, such as in providing security and in supervising detention centres; • In areas such as administration, where there are distinct problems in the domestic sector (e.g., corruption). On the other hand, domestic capacity will be crucial in carrying out any functions that require integration into the domestic context, such as: • Investigations, particularly where this involves dealing with potential witnesses, since in general it will be beneficial to address witnesses directly rather than through translation and to treat them in a culturally sensitive and appropriate manner; 92 T he military component of UNAMSIL has been supportive of the Special Court from the outset, but all expenses for assistance, such as the use of helicopters, are borne by the Special Court. 93 In Sierra Leone, the Special Court was conceived and developed separately from related initiatives, such as those developed by the UNAMSIL Rule of Law section, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which received support from OHCHR. Hybrids should be integrated into a coordinated approach to the judicial sector on the international level, and should form a consistent part of this approach. 94 This has been more the case in Kosovo and Timor-Leste than in Sierra Leone. 33