24 CHAPTER 2 Conducting a Preliminary Assessment An organization will often start with a general concept of how a trial-monitoring programme might support a process of justice-sector reform or improvements in the situation of human rights and rule of law. Specific problems with the administration of justice will already have been identified and some knowledge will have been developed regarding the domestic context. Even given this, a thorough preliminary assessment should be undertaken to define what the programme aims to achieve and to determine the most appropriate focus, scale and duration. This chapter provides an overview of issues that should be covered in a preliminary assessment, including evaluating various in-country conditions and assessing an organization’s own capacities and the resources it possesses to organize and run a successful monitoring programme. Operational issues, such as access and how a programme’s focus impacts its scale and duration, are also addressed. A preliminary assessment should provide an informed basis for selecting the type of monitoring programme and the institutional model that will best serve a programme’s aims and meet its anticipated operational needs.20 The preliminary assessment will help with programme planning and securing external funding.21 It can also be used as a baseline for future assessments of the progress and impact of the programme. An assessment should be carried out not only before the start of a monitoring programme but also when a programme considers expanding into additional fields or changing its thematic focus or priorities. 2.1 Evaluating in-country conditions, organizational capacities and access issues As a first step in a preliminary assessment, both in-country conditions and the internal capacities and resources of the organization seeking to engage in monitoring should be evaluated to help determine the programme’s aims and to identify the focus of monitoring. 2.1.1 In-country conditions Most importantly, a preliminary assessment should evaluate the current situation in-country with regard to the functioning of the justice system and realization of fair trial rights. This may include reviewing those justice issues that have been previously identified as problematic, including any issues related to compliance with fair trial standards and other practices having an impact on the effective and fair functioning of the system overall, or in regard to specific types of cases. An assessment should entail a “desk-based�� review of current laws and previous reports on the justice or court system, as well as consultations with judicial authorities and representatives of local and international organizations engaged in rule of law, police reform and relevant human rights work. The assessment will most likely identify a wide range of issues that might be addressed through a monitoring programme. The eventual programme does not, however, have to be limited to issues identified in the 20 See Chapter 3, “Choosing an institutional model”. 21  On the impact of the choice of the donors on the principle of objectivity, see Chapter 1.2.2.