Participants attending the fourth annual ODIHR Expert Forum on Criminal Justice for Central Asia at Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan, on 15 October. (OSCE/Aziz Nurbekov) 20 Rule of Law and Legal Reform Democracy and the rule of law go hand in hand. For democratic institutions and procedures, and elections in particular, to function properly, the rule of law must be respected. At the same time, the rule of law is strengthened by truly democratic conditions, whereby citizens see laws as just and legitimate and not as instruments of control or oppression. This mutually reinforcing relationship works to the benefit of everyone in society if certain conditions exist, where: laws are respected and apply to everyone equally; institutions exist that ensure that laws are made in a democratic fashion by taking into account a variety of views, including those of ordinary citizens; human rights are respected; and justice is administered in an impartial manner. ODIHR conducts a number of programmes aimed at making such conditions a reality. These can be grouped into two broad categories. The first focuses specifically on justice administration and, by extension, the set of institutions and rights that are essential to upholding the rule of law. The second focuses on legal reform as a vehicle for developing laws, regulations and practices that comply with the obligations of participating States under international law. Democratization Criminal Justice Support Further reform is needed in many participating States in order to fully meet OSCE commitments and other international standards in the area of criminal justice. In supporting the reform efforts of participating States, ODIHR prioritizes the development of specific instruments aimed at gathering best practices from across the OSCE region and lessons learned from the OSCE’s work in the justice sector. The consolidation of such information ensures that ODIHR can work with the OSCE’s network of field operations in providing targeted assistance and relevant expertise to those countries requesting support. Supporting the Adjudication of War Crimes A good example of how the above-mentioned provision of assistance works in practice can be seen in a project that ODIHR launched in view of the scaling-down of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), prior to its eventual closure. OSCE trial-monitoring operations in South-Eastern Europe showed that national judicial systems were experiencing certain problems in their handling of war crimes cases. For example, ICTY jurisprudence was not being effectively utilized in local proceedings, and there were difficulties in prosecuting and convicting highlevel offenders. ODIHR Annual Report 2009