monitoring under their specific mandates, which provide a legal basis for human rights monitoring, supporting judicial reform, and/or confidence-building activities. In some contexts, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, this mandate has additionally been incorporated into the post-conflict domestic legal and governance structure. In addition, the staff model has also been utilized in Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, and Albania. As a result of the legal status and history of these field operations, monitors are viewed as staff of an international organization pursuing a mandate. Likewise, in issuing reports, making recommendations, and engaging in advocacy, programmes are supported by the mandate and particular political role of the field operation in the host state. Within the OSCE programme, supervision is usually provided by international staff with monitoring teams comprised of international staff, local staff, or a combination of both. In all OSCE staff models, case reporting is performed in English and final reports are prepared in English and then translated into the local language(s). In addition, training and other field support are usually provided by the field operation out of annual departmental core budgets. The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina: supporting systemic criminal justice reform efforts As part of its transformation from a post-conflict society, Bosnia and Herzegovina made major reforms to its criminal justice institutions in 2003. Foremost among the changes was the adoption of a new criminal procedure code that introduced adversarial features into a system previously based on a civil law model. The changes posed a major challenge to the judiciary and criminal justice system. In 2004, the OSCE Mission established a trial-monitoring programme aimed at supporting these reform efforts. The programme involved the training of 24 national OSCE staff members to monitor the implementation of the new procedural code. The monitors are members of the Mission’s Human Rights Department and are stationed in the Mission’s field offices to provide regular systemic court coverage of 36 trial and appellate courts throughout the country. Since its inception, the team has monitored thousands of criminal cases under programme guidelines that provide common case selection criteria, monitoring methods, and case reporting standards. Through 2007, the programme has published four major reports on the functioning of the criminal justice system. The programme’s initial public report provided objective findings on the implementation of the new criminal procedures in support of the reform efforts. A second report focused on issues related to the trial of war crimes, while a third thematic report focused on the new institution of plea-bargaining. A fourth report focused on issues related to ensuring respect for the presumption of innocence in plea hearings and trials. The findings of these reports have provided judges and other legal actors with information on how the justice system is actually functioning, informed the substance of the criminal law curricula in judicial and prosecutorial training centres, and served as a catalyst for amendments to the criminal procedure code. By maintaining its focus on the justice sector’s challenges, this large staff programme continues to support state authorities, judicial officials, and legal professionals who seek guidance on improving the effectiveness and fairness of the criminal justice system consistent with international fair-trial standards. 36 Trial-Monitoring: A Reference Manual for Practitioners