III. THE FOCUS OF NATIONAL CONSULTATIONS National consultations can serve as the basis for designing a comprehensive and inclusive transitional justice programme. They can also be part of, or feed into, an existing transitional justice mechanism. National consultations that occur within the framework of some existing transitional justice proposals must take account of those elements. Consequently, consultations on a programme of criminal prosecutions may look very different from those preceding a non-judicial exercise. Consultations related to criminal justice operate within a relatively narrow band of options, such as in seeking views on whether there is public interest in an international or hybrid court and what the reasons may be for such views, on prosecutorial strategy, on the design of hybrid courts, on forms of reparation and on the possible role of traditional justice mechanisms. The questions need to be carefully formulated so that they acknowledge the constraints of international law. For instance, instead of asking whether participants wish to see an amnesty for acts of genocide, a question might elicit their views on the importance of prosecution for serious crimes. Consultations regarding non-judicial mechanisms, on the other hand, may be able to explore a wide range of options. Yet even here any options for transitional justice that have already been identified, for instance in a peace agreement, will have to be taken into account. Inevitably, and often very usefully, consultations may focus attention on transitional justice possibilities that were not originally envisaged. Except if the law or good practice requires otherwise, a consultation process should be open to such possibilities. In Timor-Leste (then East Timor), the consultation process prior to the establishment of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation delivered findings that led to a significant expansion in the Commission’s mandate, for example by providing for the conduct of “community reconciliation procedures”, i.e., local community-based procedures for justice and reconciliation using traditional practices. It also led to the Commission considering the issue of widespread enforced famine–a matter that had not previously been up for discussion. 6