9.2 Consultations prior to issuing reports Consultations with the relevant authorities over the content of a public report prior to issuance may take a number of forms. Consultations may involve the mere disclosure of the report or provide an opportunity to comment. They may also extend to allowing local actors meaningful participation in the formulation of recommendations. In practice, consultations need not consist of providing the entire report to authorities, but may involve outlining the major conclusions and recommendations. In the end, the form consultations should take will depend on the programme’s relationship with the authorities and what is likely to be accomplished in a consultation process. In deciding what form consultations should take, a programme should consider what it seeks to achieve. At a minimum, consultations with the same authorities that are the target of findings or recommendations is a professional courtesy and can assist in maintaining a good working relationship especially where reports may be critical. Such authorities may include representatives from the Ministry of Justice, Supreme Court, legislative bodies, or other institutions. Another purpose of consultation is to provide assurance against publication errors and give local authorities a chance to respond to what they believe to be inaccuracies in the report. This process may identify new information or provide new perspectives on data, thereby allowing a programme the opportunity to correct errors and adjust conclusions as appropriate. As the implementation of recommendations will require the commitment of local officials, consultations also provide 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 local perspectives, but may also create the necessary buy-in of local officials into the reform process, giving them an important stake in the success of the recommendations. Frank discussions during this process may also help programmes identify partners willing to assist in the reform process, as well as identify those interests that are indifferent or opposed to change. In this way, consultations provide an additional means to obtain information regarding stakeholder interests. Although consultations cannot ensure that recommendations are implemented, there is also little harm that may come from discussing findings in advance of issuing a public report. Only where there is no hope of any productive response from any institution or official should consultations be avoided. For instance, this may be the case where it is clear that state actors are antagonistic to trial-monitoring or reform more generally. By virtue of the OSCE political commitment to trial-monitoring, however, OSCE trial-monitoring programmes have generally been able to build a level of consensus with different local actors on the aims and goals of trial-monitoring so as to make consultations productive. 9.3 Joint issuance of reports A joint public report is a report that is issued in conjunction with another institution or organization. Although both organizations need not contribute to produce the report, both organizations publicly stand behind the report’s content, conclusions, and recommendations upon publication. The issuance of joint reports may raise the visibility and 118 Trial-Monitoring: A Reference Manual for Practitioners