36 CHAPTER 4 Access to Court Proceedings and Other Access Issues A key step for any trial-monitoring programme is to assess how much access it might be able to gain to judicial proceedings, materials and other related information. There are two main types of access issues: those related to case identification, and those pertaining to monitoring as individual cases progress. The main challenge related to case identification is to achieve a regular system of access to information that permits the fullest identification of cases or proceedings relevant to monitoring. The principal challenge related to case monitoring is to achieve a level of access to materials and hearings commensurate with the goals of the programme. Securing regular access permits programme personnel to identify cases and adapt monitoring methodology, thereby improving the quality and consistency of monitoring results. Simply put, the greater the access, the more thorough and effective monitoring will be. Securing appropriate access requires an analysis of the legal framework for provisions that govern public access to trials, laying the groundwork for monitoring activity with officials at all levels, and establishing internal procedures and strategies to maximize access. 4.1 Identifying the legal framework The initial step in securing access for trial-monitoring activities is identifying the legal framework supporting trial monitoring in applicable international and domestic law. In international law, programmes may always look to the fundamental right to a public trial as a basis for trial monitoring. The right to a public trial is enshrined in Article 14 (1) of the ICCPR, as well as in relevant regional treaties, such as Article 6 (1) of the ECHR. Therefore, most states will be subject to international legal obligations that require them to allow access to trials and the monitoring of proceedings. All OSCE participating States have made a specific commitment, under paragraph 12 of the Copenhagen Document, to allow the monitoring of trials by observers from other participating States, NGOs or other interested persons. For some OSCE field operations, such as the Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Mission in Kosovo, trial monitoring is an explicit element of their mandates. Some field operations have also attempted to gain access to closed hearings, which generally will be granted only on the basis of concrete agreements.39 Certain OSCE field operations were established with robust mandates, including unhindered access to courts and the judiciary. For example, trial-monitoring programmes set up by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the OSCE Mission in Kosovo have capitalized on the concept of unhindered access and have obtained the agreement of the authorities for far-reaching access to proceedings, including those not open to the public.40 In these circumstances, to a large degree, monitors were not perceived as members of the public, but as professionals carrying out a concrete role requiring more privileged access. 39  See also Chapter 4.5, “Access to closed hearings”. 40  In the case of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, this was true during the whole period of the UNMIK administration of the territory.