26 Trial Monitoring: A Reference Manual for Practitioners The human and financial resources available to a programme will also impact its potential scale and duration, as well as its ability to meet its declared aims. The availability of resources must be taken carefully into account as part of programme development. Sometimes available funding cannot provide for all needs, and priorities will have to be established. Available funding will determine whether an extensive programme over a long time-frame or requiring a large number of geographically dispersed monitors is feasible or, instead, only smaller monitoring teams covering fewer courts. The availability of funds and human resources for translation will also shape the programme’s methodological choices.24 In addition to the above, the nature of an organization’s past work may limit its ability to engage in effective monitoring. For instance, organizations that have engaged in political advocacy might not be perceived as objective monitoring presences on issues of justice reform. Consequently, state officials and judicial actors may be less likely to accept their findings. This possibility needs to be considered before undertaking a programme. 2.1.3 Access preliminary consideration The extent to which monitors are likely to have access to courts and trials is an important consideration in determining the feasibility of different types of monitoring programmes. This is a key factor to be considered during the preliminary assessment. Limitations in access to trial schedules prevent a programme from identifying cases of interest, while barriers to physical access prevent monitors from attending hearings or observing cases in their entirety. Assessing access requires an analysis of the domestic legal framework governing public access to judicial proceedings, as well as an assessment of practical obstacles that may impede monitoring. These may include informal practices that prohibit the public from accessing courtrooms or may relate to ineffective case tracking or scheduling systems that prevent the identification of cases. Where access is an issue, programmes may have to prioritize their efforts towards implementing the right to a public trial before monitoring compliance with other standards.25 2.2 Main objectives and focus of trial-monitoring programmes A key goal of the preliminary assessment is to define the objectives and focus of a trial-monitoring programme. These should address a country’s specific challenges, so that a programme’s findings and recommendations will be relevant to local actors. In the OSCE context, systemic and thematic trial-monitoring programmes have aimed at carrying out a comprehensive assessment of either the functioning of the justice system as a whole or of parts of the system, for the purpose of identifying specific areas in need of reform. In this process, a focus on international fair trial standards and related domestic laws is usually of primary interest. Trialmonitoring programmes have also been used to increase awareness among the judiciary regarding the right to a public trial and other fair trial standards, as well as to enhance the realization of the right to a public trial in practice.26 The chart in Annex II A sets out a number of key substantive issues that might be monitored at different stages of the legal process. The preliminary assessment should take into account whether these or similar issues should be covered as part of a planned monitoring programme. A more comprehensive list of issues to consider is included in the companion volume to this manual, ODIHR’s Legal Digest of International Fair Trial Rights.27 24  If international staff are deployed, interpretation and translation costs may be substantial. 25  See also Chapter 4, “Access to court proceedings and other access issues”. 26  An overview of past OSCE programmes, including a description of their primary objectives, is provided in Annex VIII. 27  ODIHR, Legal Digest of International Fair Trial Rights, op. cit., note 2. A list of other sources for substantive standards is included in Annex VIII.