• • • • Copies of the applicable domestic substantive and procedural criminal codes applicable to the cases that will be monitored; Copies of administrative laws relevant to monitoring, including laws regulating the posting of case schedules, obligations of court presidents, or other administrative laws; Information on the domestic legal system, including organizational and jurisdictional structure of the courts, prosecutors’ offices, and other relevant legal organs such as bar associations; Other materials, articles, and reports on relevant local legal issues and/or practices published by international and/or national organizations. Given that copying of such materials may often place a strain on resources, programmes may wish to consider maintaining legal reference materials at central locations or providing them online if possible. However such materials are distributed, all monitors and staff should be aware of their existence and of how to quickly and easily access such materials as needed. 7.3.1 Creating a legal reference manual Where resources and time permit, programmes may also consider the creation of a legal reference manual that is specifically tailored to the purpose and focus of monitoring in the local context. Such manuals provide the advantage of having all legal reference materials collected in one place, and also allow a programme to organize and edit materials in a manner that reflects the specific legal focus of the monitoring programme. In the OSCE, this has included incorporating cases of local origin into the presentation of international and domestic fair-trial standards to identify how such standards have been applied locally. In addition, a legal reference manual may summarize and highlight important procedures and rules in domestic laws, including treatment of potential gaps or ambiguous procedures. Additional cost and time will be necessary for the creation of such a manual, but it should be considered for a number of reasons. First, the research required to compile a manual often represents a starting point for identifying gaps and areas where domestic laws are not compliant with international standards. This is a process that must be undertaken regardless of whether a manual is produced. Second, the creation of a manual provides an opportunity to consult and obtain input from domestic legal experts and other organizations, expanding the reach of the programme beyond the organization and obtaining additional feedback that draws on local legal knowledge. Third, programmes that have created a manual have the benefit of a permanent resource that will streamline the process of orienting and training new staff. The creation of a legal reference manual need not be unduly time-consuming. On the one hand, where the manual will only collect and organize relevant laws, secondary sources, and other materials, it may be created relatively quickly. Where more comprehensive treatment of applicable case law is undertaken (including original research on relevant international and domestic case law), the process may take several months. If it is decided that a legal reference manual will be used, the process of creating the manual should be one of the first activities undertaken in organizing the programme. Trial-Monitoring: A Reference Manual for Practitioners 93