Where access to closed hearings is necessitated by the purposes and focus of the programme, it must also be recognized that such access presents additional operational challenges that must be addressed. First, in cases involving closed hearings, an obligation of confidentiality is imposed upon the monitor and programme as a result of the court’s order to exclude the public. This will require that the programme establish clear information-sharing controls and may require special steps to ensure the confidentiality of reporting. Where such controls are not established, or where confidential information is released, programme credibility, as well as the judicial process, may be compromised (see Chapter 8.5.2, “Establishing information-sharing controls”). Despite the obligation of confidentiality, however, it should be noted that such confidentiality only extends to the protection of the information that warranted the application of a closed hearing under international or domestic law in the first instance. It does not apply to collateral issues involving court procedures, including an analysis of the validity of the court’s order to exclude the public in the first instance. Therefore, despite potential restrictions on the release of information that formed the basis for the court’s order to exclude the public, programmes should retain the right to report more generally on procedural or other issues that do not relate to the subject matter sought to be protected by the court order. A second operational challenge where closed hearings are monitored relates to the heightened security concerns that arise where a monitor is privy to confidential information. This may include the identity of protected witnesses or other non-public information that warranted preclusion of the public. In cases involving organized crime, war crimes, or other high-profile criminal matters, the personal safety of the monitor may be threatened. Programmes should therefore give careful consideration to both the benefits and challenges of monitoring closed hearings when determining if such monitoring will be performed. 5.4.6 Best practices for securing access to closed hearings • Monitors must be prepared to provide official documents, including a copy of the specific OSCE mandate, MoU, and/or official letters providing authorization to monitor closed hearings. • Monitors must be prepared to explain the confidentiality policy of the programme and that such information will not be disseminated to the public. • Monitors must agree as part of their code of conduct to be bound by any court order prohibiting the public release of information, i.e., identity of witnesses, substance of specific evidence, and other information that formed the basis for the exclusion of the public. • If access is granted, monitors must report such information consistent with the reporting methodology of the programme, including special procedures regarding reporting confidential or sensitive information (see Chapter 6 for a broader discussion of programme confidentiality). Trial-Monitoring: A Reference Manual for Practitioners 65