individual courts, to widely attended state-level roundtables, including representatives from all institutions with competency and interest in judicial reform. Further, while roundtables may be used as a discussion forum, they should also aim to extract commitments from competent officials that may be documented and followed up on later. In addition to organizing roundtables after the completion of a report, roundtables may also be organized in advance of reports to help formulate recommendations. In this way, roundtables may serve more widely as an opportunity to get feedback from various institutions and actors on how to address specific problems. This process may not only help identify workable solutions from the local perspective, but may also create the necessary buy-in of local officials into the reform process, thereby giving them an important stake in the success the recommendations. Pre-report roundtables to formulate recommendations with national authorities and representatives A novel approach to the process of formulating recommendations and engaging the local authorities was regularized in connection with trial-monitoring projects undertaken by the coalition All for Fair Trials in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. At the completion of the monitoring, the coalition and the OSCE invite institutional actors and other representatives of government to discuss the findings for the purpose of formulating recommendations in connection with the final report. In the past, such actors have included the highest representatives of the judiciary, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior, the Association of Judges, the Association of Public Prosecutors, the National Judicial Council, representatives of the Ombudsman’s Office, members of national commissions, and representatives of international and national organizations. At such roundtables, the findings and conclusions of monitoring are presented. Local authorities are then given an opportunity to comment on the findings and to craft their own solutions and recommendations to address the issues identified by the monitoring. This process increases local participation and buy-in in the process of reform. Ultimately, while the coalition and the OSCE retain the right to control the content of the final report, the roundtable provides an important forum to have competent authorities discuss and consider the issues in depth. Such roundtables have resulted in the acknowledgement of systemic conditions, recommendations for further action, and the undertaking of commitments, including the creation of a permanent working group to monitor the implementation of the recommendations. Following these roundtables, recommendations and commitments are incorporated in the final report. Six months after the publication of the final report, a follow-up roundtable is convened to mark the progress of the commitments undertaken by the parties. 9.5 Press conferences and press releases Press conferences and press releases by the OSCE are a method of making the general public aware of the findings and conclusions of monitoring, as well as making the public aware of the existence and purpose of such monitoring in the local context. Given the legal nature of reports, both press conferences and press releases should summarize the conclusions of monitoring, eliminating technical language, explaining 120 Trial-Monitoring: A Reference Manual for Practitioners