preclude any organized method to systemize case identification and selection. Letters to court presidents and meetings provide an important means to introduce the programme at the individual local court level and to attempt to come to arrangements that will overcome these issues. Letters to court presidents should be sent to each court where monitoring will occur once the programme has determined its methodology. The letter should explain the basis and purpose of monitoring, as well as make reference to the existence of any MoU. The letter should also politely request the support of the court, including notification to all trial judges of the programme. Lastly, letters should also request a meeting with the court to discuss the programme in more detail, answer questions, and address any issues or concerns. Initial meetings should next be scheduled with court presidents. Given the status of the court president, it is important to have the co-ordinator or another supervisor conduct this initial meeting. Meetings, like letters, may be used to introduce the programme, including its purpose and methodology. If a specific monitor is assigned to the court, the meeting should be used to make this introduction. Like meetings with officials, meetings with court presidents should seek to build a good working relationship and obtain buy-in regarding the goals of monitoring. Finally, meetings should also be used to establish an agreed methodology for identifying cases in the courthouse and obtaining documents, if consistent with the programme’s methodology (see ­Chapter 5.3, “Securing access to identify cases”). 5.2.3. Identification and informational materials The experience of trial-monitoring programmes is that access progressively improves as monitoring continues and legal actors become more familiar and comfortable with the role of monitors. Initially, it is not unusual for courts and other actors to not fully understand the nature of the programme until after issuance of the first report. As a result, initial access and co-operation may be greatly increased by presenting identification and informational materials such as a copy of the MoU, any letters issued by local authorities to the courts regarding co-operation, or letters issued by the programme to court presidents or other officials describing the programme. To best ensure access to each individual hearing, monitors should also be ready to present all official documents regarding the programme each time they present themselves for monitoring. In addition to these basic documents, OSCE trial-monitoring project programmes in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova have prepared informative brochures. The brochures are meant to introduce the programme to judges, court officials, and other legal actors. To increase transparency, brochures have also contained information regarding the programme’s purposes and scope, as well as identification of the implementing partners and names of the individual monitors. To help gain physical access to courtrooms, programmes have also had positive experience with identification badges or identification cards stating the name of the monitor and affiliation with the programme. Such cards may be particularly helpful when monitors are not OSCE staff and where physical access to courthouses or courtrooms is particularly difficult. In project programmes, identification materials provide a measure of confidence to the monitor through identification with the monitoring programme. 60 Trial-Monitoring: A Reference Manual for Practitioners