Witness Protection Research Articles

사법방해죄 도입에 대한 고찰

The beginning that the `Obstruction of Justice` in the United States is commonly known to Korea is through the impeachment of former president W. J. Clinton in 1998. The `Obstruction of Justice` in the federal law of the United States is comprehensively provided with a general and a particular rule laying emphasis on the obstruction of legal judiciary proceedings. But, according to the Korean Criminal Act and court decisions, there are no such system like the `Obstruction of Justice` in the United States. In this result, in terms of the criminal-judicial system, some cases even telling a lies has more benefits than revealing the truth and it is discouraged to cooperate the achievement of judicial justice, which make difficulties in investigation and realizing real truth. For this reason, the Ministry of Justice in Korea makes efforts to introduce the `Obstruction of Justice`. Nevertheless we should examine from all angles that the introduction of `Obstruction of Justice` is indeed the alternative in our circumstances. Most of the discussions on the introduction of `Obstruction of Justice` and also the revised bill of the Ministry of Justice are questions of `False Statement of Suspect and Witness` for investigation of investigative agency, rather than for the introduction of a general rule on the `Obstruction of Justice`. The introduction of `False Statement of Suspect and Witness` for investigation of investigative agency needs to consider concern about human rights infringement and witness protection system should be reinforced in the first place. In other words, the introduction of `False Statement of Suspect and Witness` for investigation process of investigative agency is undesirable now.

(Re)Presenting Baltimore: Place, Policy, Politics, and Cultural Pedagogy

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes The city does have full and rich African American histories. With the exception, however, of the recently opened Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture, these histories do not tend to feature heavily in the city's promotional campaigns—although the recent comprehensive master plan does recognize the supposed $90 billion potential in “minority tourism.” For a discussion of African American history in Baltimore, see Allman-Baldwin (2003 Allman-Baldwin , L. ( 2003 , September 11) . Ebony Escapes to Charm City . New York Amsterdam News , 26 – 34 . [Google Scholar]). These representations have, in particularly The Wire, sparked what is a peculiar fascination that the British broadsheet media/intelligentsia/chattering classes seem to have with the fetishizing of blackness/black urban “authenticity.” Undeniably popular, in Stuart Hall's sense of the word, yet we wonder if consumption of The Wire is more an exoticizing or eroticizing of the urban Other through a lens almost reminiscent of traditional “colonialist” anthropology. Although beyond the scope of this article, there are a number of academic texts that explicitly address the cultural politics of The Wire, such as Potter and Marshall's (2009) The Wire: Urban Decay and American Television. As a direct response, the Baltimore Police Department produced its own 4-minute DVD titled, Keep Talkin. Employing the same distinctly black, urban, hip-hop, “street” aesthetic as Stop Snitching, Keep Talkin encourages residents to keep reporting criminal activities in their neighborhood. For a paper length explication of Anthony's “embodied urbanite,” see Andrews and Silk (2010 Andrews , D. L. and Silk , M. L. ( 2010 ). Basketball's Ghettocentric Logic . American Behavioral Scientist , 53 , 1626 – 1644 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). This was however a relatively brief appointment as in 2003, he left the Baltimore City force under a cloud of expense account indictment threats. He joined the State force, but Federal indictments issued in 2003 lead to a guilty plea to two counts related to spending from a Baltimore Police Department “supplemental” fund on items that were for personal use rather than for police-related activities. He served six months in various federal prison camps and continues to serve home detention because of a plea bargain with the U.S. Attorney's Office in May 2004. This distance, the lack of public accountability, has however been challenged in Baltimore as a result of an extremely horrific, high profile, and tragic incident that points to the shortcomings of the shifts away from welfare capitalism. Within the spirit of the Believe campaign, Angela Dawson, of Oliver, North East Baltimore, and her husband, Carnell, stepped forward to work with the city of Baltimore against the drug dealers in their neighborhood. From July to October 2002, Angela Dawson called the police more than 50 times. After several incidents in which they were intimidated by local drug dealers in their East Baltimore neighborhood, including an attempted firebombing, the Dawson's house was broken into, accelerant distributed throughout the living rooms, and set on fire on October 16, 2002. Angela, Carnell, and their five children, 9-year-old twins Keith and Kevin, 10-year-old Carnell Jr., 12-year-old Juan Ortiz, and 14-year-old LaWanda Ortiz were all killed. Darrel L. Brooks, a known drug dealer, was sentenced to life without parole for the offence. The relatives of the seven members of the Dawson family killed in the arson attack have filed suit against the city, state, and various agencies, claiming not enough was done to prevent the tragedy (Hurley, 2005 Hurley , L. (2005, February 18). Survivors of Baltimore drug dealer attack sue for $14 M, better witness protection. The Daily Record , 17. [Google Scholar]). The suit alleges that the Believe campaign, which encourages residents to come forward with information about drug dealers, only served to contribute to the problem because law enforcement did not provide resources to protect witnesses. The suit alleges that the Believe campaign was launched at a time when it was known that witness intimidation was commonplace and critiques the administration for a focus on a high-priced symbolic campaign at the expense of witness protection provision (Hurley, 2005 Hurley , L. (2005, February 18). Survivors of Baltimore drug dealer attack sue for $14 M, better witness protection. The Daily Record , 17. [Google Scholar]).

Critical Overview of the 'Residual Functions' of the Mechanism and its Date of Commencement (including Transitional Arrangements)

The article presents a critical overview of the eight ‘residual functions’ of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda to be performed by the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, namely trial of fugitives; trial of contempt cases; protection of witnesses; review of judgments; referral of cases to national jurisdictions; enforcement of sentences; assistance to national authorities and management of the Tribunals’ archives. It also deals with the Transitional Arrangements, which determine which organ of either the Mechanism or the appropriate Tribunal will be competent to complete ongoing proceedings or to commence new proceedings.

The Ethics of Violence

This article analyzes classroom discussions of Boaz Yakin's 1994 film Fresh—an unsettling urban drama about a young boy (Fresh) who devises a creative escape from the drug dealers in his environment: he buys a large amount of cocaine that he uses to trick those dealers into thinking that they're all trying to break into each others' markets. In the end, he turns these negative and violent forces against each other and then enters the Witness Protection Program. The social commentary in the film is paramount since it highlights the disturbing cultural reasons why a twelve–year-old African American boy has to devise his own escape from the inner city. Most important, class discussions of (as well as the writing assignments focused on) Yakin's film necessarily confront the role that class hierarchies play in America as well as the cultural myths—like the unconditional individual—that affect many of our expectations and assumptions. Herein resides the film's pedagogical importance: it offers an intensely emotional and intellectual challenge to many of our foundational understandings of American values and cultural narratives. That is, it critiques the problematic rationalizations (like “the just-world phenomenon”) that seek to not only dis-empower but also neglect whole segments of American society.

Hunting for Hemingway (review)

Reviewed by: Hunting for Hemingway Ron McFarland Hunting for Hemingway. By Diane Gilbert Madsen . Woodbury, MN: Midnight Ink, 2010. 277 pp. $14.95. Paper. A possible sub-set of the burgeoning sub-genre of Ernest Hemingway appropriations might be novels pertaining to the lost or stolen manuscripts of 1922. Little would Hadley have suspected on that fateful day of 3 December 1922 as she boarded the train from Paris to Lausanne, hoping to surprise her young husband by bringing him all of the manuscripts and carbons of his writing she could lay her hands on, that she would provide fuel for a future fictional conflagration. Vincent Cosgrove suggests in his 1983 pulp fiction, The Hemingway Papers, that the Nazis, including Goering himself, were involved. MacDonald Harris's 1990 novel, Hemingway's Suitcase, and Joe Haldeman's award-winning science fiction, also 1990, The Hemingway Hoax, both involve forgeries. In his 1994 novel, Papas Koffer, translated as Papa's Suitcase, Gerhardt Köpf introduces us to a Hem-obsessed bookseller who traipses through all the familiar haunts, from Pamplona and Paris to Kenya and Ketchum, in search of the elusive luggage. So enter now, stage right, Chicago-based author Diane Gilbert Madsen's insurance investigator and ipso facto sleuth DD McGil, age 39, Ph.D. dropout in English (17th-century British lit), single but sexually active (if not hyperactive), blue-eyed blonde of proud Scottish ancestry and personality. The fast-moving mystery-adventure (not quite a "thriller") is told from her in-your-face, first-person viewpoint: "In the history of the world, I knew I wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last to have things turn around and bite me in the ass" (114). We learn right away that DD's love, Scotty Stuart, has been taken into witness protection, so she is vulnerable to the blandishments of a former lover, going back to grad school days, David Barnes, "my old college flame" (8), a Hemingway scholar who claims to have discovered the lost manuscripts. I suspect Madsen has cobbled together Jake Barnes's surname from The Sun Also Rises and David Bourne's given name from The Garden of Eden to arrive at this moniker. "I wondered if this was a con" (16), DD asks herself, and if she had come across the pertinent fictional appropriations, she would likely have had little doubt about the matter. Barnes intends to sell the material at auction and let the buyer beware so far as publication rights and those connected with Hemingway's estate are concerned. In the aftermath of her tryst with Barnes, DD catches a TV news announcement about the find, the reporter picking up on the story that "Hadley had intentionally packed both the originals and the carbons, and, jealous of Hemingway's success, she'd lost everything on purpose" [End Page 127] (26). This caused a "deep rift in their marriage" and led to their eventual divorce. That old canard, one is tempted to say. DD, plagued by an intense heat-wave and the IRS throughout the novel, is engaged by an insurance company to prove the documents are forgeries, but Barnes has been careful to release only a few pages, and both stylistic analysis of the text and close examination of the paper and of the Corona used to type the pages have suggested their authenticity. With the assistance of a writer friend Madsen even reproduces four pages from the putative manuscript, thus following a sort of tradition that several Hemingway appropriators have found impossible to resist: imitation of the inimitable Hemingway writing style. No sooner are we apprised of the details than we learn that David Barnes has been murdered. DD hears the shot over the telephone, but her new employers, including a former paramour named Matt, fail to accompany her to David's apartment, where she is conked on the head. When the police arrive, she becomes their prime suspect and the game is underway. A couple of additional homicides follow and DD connects romantically with one of her new employers, Mitch Sinclair, who drives a green Jag: "I shivered with a whole body thrill and succumbed to the moment" (226...

Credible Fact-Finding and Allegations of International Humanitarian Law Violations: Challenges in Theory and Practice

The increasing resort to fact-finding missions from various international actors to address alleged human rights and international humanitarian law violations raises various issues ranging from one of an agreed common methodology to ascertain credibly such allegations to practical questions pertaining for example to the protection of witnesses and victims. This article intends to review some of the challenges arising from conducting fact-finding about international humanitarian law violations. While this contribution suggests that there are common features to fact-finding activities under international humanitarian law and human rights law, it also focuses on specific challenges related to the situation of armed conflict and to the structure of certain international humanitarian law norms that render fact-finding missions complicated. It also aims at presenting both legal and practical challenges with the view to help relevant actors planning more effectively on fact-finding missions on alleged international humanitarian law violations.

A Study on the Witness Protection Programs in Criminal Procedure

A Study on the Witness Protection Programs in Criminal Procedure

The Challenges of Responding to Extrajudicial Executions: Interview with Philip Alston

In our continuing series of reflections by human rights practitioners on their work, Philip Alston reflects here on his six-year term as UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, completed in July 2010. In the interview, Professor Alston addresses some of the methodological challenges faced by UN Special Procedures in their work – and in particular, highlights the need for greater context-specific analysis in reporting. He also speaks about some of the key themes that feature prominently in many of his country visit reports – including impunity, corruption, witness protection, police accountability, targeted killings, and election-related violence and killings.

The International Criminal Court: witness and victim protection and support, legal aid and family visits

The Registry of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is responsible for the non‐judicial aspects of the administration of the Court – the judicial aspects being the responsibility of the Judges – and for ‘servicing of the Court’. This article examines three instances in which the Registry of the ICC has specific obligations with respect to: (1) victims’ and witnesses’ protection and support; (2) legal aid for defendants and victims; and (3) the organization of family visits to detained persons.

Quelques apports des Tribunaux pénaux internationaux, ad hoc et notamment le TPIR, à la lutte contre les violences sexuelles subies par les femmes Durant les génocides et les conflits armés

Sexual assault is amongst the most outrageous and rampant weapons of armed conflicts and mass crimes. During the Rwandan genocide in 1994, sexual violence and rape of women were the rule rather than the exception. The international penal tribunals were established with the main objective of fighting impunity of core crimes including the area of sexual violence. This article presents some of the major contributions of international criminal justice, notably the ICTR, to the latter area. It is divided into two parts. The first one deals with the procedure. The analysis notably covers: investigation, witness protection and the rules of evidence used to prove sexual violence. The second part examines the contributions in substantial criminal law. The most salient is the elaboration of an international definition of rape, and the labelling of rape as an act of genocide.

Laboratory of the International Community? Role of International Organizations in the Re-establishment of the Rule of Law in Kosovo

INTRODUCTION (1) Various interventions of an international community in failed states or otherwise unstable territories have showed the crucial importance of the rule of law in re-establishing order in post-conflict societies. The territorial status of the world's newest state, Kosovo, was resolved by its unilateral declaration of independence on February 17, 2008. The current situation in Kosovo brings many points of major legal interest. This paper discusses the roles and goals of international and local organizations and institutions in Kosovo and evaluates their impact upon post-conflict capacity-building efforts. However, the effectiveness of these institutions is undermined by various challenges which erode respect for the rule of law in Kosovo. There are many areas undermining the rule of law efforts, such as organized crime and corruption, serious deficiencies in the justice system (including, inter alia, lack of witness protection), human rights violations, and high unemployment. This paper focuses on two of these areas--organized crime and human rights concerns. First, the legal basis of the European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) and its task in fighting the organized crime will be briefly examined. Second, the role of a newly established Constitutional Court of Kosovo acting also as the final arbiter of the interpretation and application of European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) will be assessed. The final chapter offers some recommendations for the future since it is argued that most of the challenges which were faced by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) still exist in Kosovo. WHAT ROLE DOES THE EULEX MISSION PLAY IN KOSOVO? EULEX is the EU's largest civilian operation ever deployed, both in terms of personnel and budget. (2) In order to strengthen stability in the region, the European Union shall assist Kosovo by means of a European Security and Defence Policy mission. EULEX is a technical rule of law mission which covers three main components: police, customs, and justice. EULEX should assist Kosovo authorities by mentoring, monitoring, and advising while respecting the local ownership. The legal basis for the establishment of EULEX is the Council Joint Action 2008/124/CFSP (Joint Action) supported by all twenty-seven EU member states. In addition to the Joint Action, EULEX is also claiming to be operating under the general framework of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999), (3) which is explicitly mentioned in the Joint Action. One could argue that this is a rather broad interpretation of Resolution 1244. Resolution 1244 was clearly adopted in a different time (1999) and a different context (UNMIK as an international administration, and KFOR as international security force entered Kosovo as the part of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia/Serbia), i.e., in a situation which in no way anticipated the independence of Kosovo. Obviously, there is no reference in Resolution 1244 to EULEX as such. At the same time, the UN Security Council did not replace Resolution 1244; therefore, the legal basis of a new mission from an international law point of view was not clear-cut. This can be illustrated by the fact that the Kosovo authorities have repeatedly stated that Resolution 1244 is no longer relevant and that the institutions of Kosovo have no legal obligation to abide by it. The relationship between and EULEX has often been described as EULEX taking over from UNMIK or replacing UNMIK. However, a change of the legal status of Kosovo has and will continue to have a significant impact on a different role and mandate of EULEX. EULEX is not a successor of UNMIK; accordingly, there was no formal handover. In addition, the issue of the (non)recognition of the independence of Kosovo has an impact on EULEX status and effectiveness in the whole territory of Kosovo, including the parts with the Serbian majority. …

Organized Crime: The Rise and Fall of the Mob

Seeking a single definition of “organized crime” is a futile quest. “Organized crime” is a social construct. Whatever the case with natural entities, it has no “essence” in the traditional sense of the term. Thus, the meaning of “organized crime” is a question of the purpose for which it is used. Various definitions work well or ill in varying circumstances. Using one definition in each circumstance is problematic. Forms of organized crime were present in the United States from its earliest days. Apart from Prohibition, organized crime, used in the sense of the Mafia or the Mob, did not come to national attention until the 1950’s, when its operations received widespread publicity, as the result of congressional investigations. Nevertheless, because we have traditionally thought of crime control as a local matter, the federal government did not at that time get into the fray in a major way. Even then, its responses had little impact on the Mob. In fact, the Mob reached its apex in the United States in the 1960’s. Following recommendations of the President’s Crime Commission in 1967, which studied organized crime, in particular the Mob, in detail, Congress acted in 1968 to authorize court-ordered electronic surveillance. In the 1970’s, it authorized other evidence gathering tools, set up the witness protection program, established sentencing guidelines, and enacted the anti-racketeering act, or RICO. Little happened in the efforts to control the Mob until the 1980’s, when the FBI finally learned how to use these new law enforcement tools. Today, the Mob, throughout the United States, is a shadow of its former self. The legal tools and administrative changes to control or eliminate it are in place. Its final elimination is a matter of the political will to continue to provide the necessary law enforcement resources. The sun has not set, but it is twilight for the Mob.

Emerging Need for Witness Protection Laws in India Analyzing the Success and Failures

It is a common scene in a movie where the villain detains the family members of the witness so as to stop him to depose. At times, offers money for not deposing or deposing in false. Sometimes, it is shown that after a deposition, the witness is killed by the survivors of gang or even in a situation villain comes out of jail after completion of his sentence and takes revenge. These are not only the instances shown in the Bollywood movies, but can be witnessed in real life, for example Zaheera Sheikh, Shayan Munshi, Sateyndra Dubey, and others. Witnesses play a vital role in prosecution of a criminal case. In absence of witnesses, no accused can be brought to conviction. There are various factors which make a witness to an incident reluctant to depose or to depose falsely or irrelevantly (hostile witness). Least level of protection afforded to witnesses is one of the major reasons for this. The present paper discusses the issue of protection of witnesses in Criminal Justice Administration

Current Issues in Evidence and Procedure - Comparative Comments from a Continental Perspective

In this article, Professor Nijboer discusses three dimensions of generality in evidence and procedure: (1) generality of fundamental issues in evidence and fact-finding and insights about them across national borders, (2) generality of issues of criminal evidence across various relevant disciplines (and professions), and (3) generality with respect to specific issues of criminal evidence and its principles and rules addressing the various probanda of specific crimes (murder, theft, rape, arson, negligence causing a serious traffic accident, et cetera). He then comments on the contributions to this anniversary issue from a continental perspective, with frequent references to case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Professor Nijboer finds that while legal scholars are increasingly communicating with legal scholars in other countries and scientists from other fields, there is a simultaneous counter-tendency toward adoption of crime-specific rules of substantive law and evidentiary measures for specific kinds of crime (such as protection of witnesses in rape cases, where the protection complicates the fact-findings process). He concludes from this that there is a tension between greater generality in regard to the first two dimensions and increasing specificity in regard to the third. In his final paragraphs, he turns to W.L. Twining's description of the development of evidentiary theory, in which the same tension between dimensions can be seen. The European Union's increasing legal harmonization will probably promote further discussion of evidentiary theory across disciplinary, professional, and national boundaries.

Witnesses before the International Criminal Court

AbstractIt is an established rule of international law that all witnesses shall testify at the seat of the court. The witness scheme of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a complex one which provides for direct and indirect judicial authority over witnesses. This article grabbles with the complexities of the ICC procedural rules with regard to witnesses, concentrating on three components in the ICC witness scheme: testimony, cooperation and protection. Part I of this article examines the general rule of witness testimony before the Court and different alternatives for the giving of testimonial evidence when a witness cannot be present before the Court. The ICC's powers to compel witnesses are extremely limited and it is forced to rely on traditional legal assistance such as depositions. Part II discusses the exercise of indirect judicial authority by the Court through the assistance of States in relation to witnesses. It analyses provisions on State cooperation with witnesses, national implementing legislation with regard to witnesses and assesses the effectiveness of this legislation. The subsequent practice of State Parties as reflected by their implementing legislation on witnesses proves that a consistent practice does not exist. This section also examines the cooperation between the ICC and international organisations as regards witnesses. Part III examines the ICC Witness Protection Scheme; it looks at the ways in which witnesses are protected and it cites the practice of other tribunals. It then looks at the ICC's Victims and Witness Unit vis-à-vis the policies and mechanisms in place.

Encyclopedia of gangs

In light of Los Angeles' gang state of emergency, ethnic and minority gangs are arguably more high profile now than at any other time in our history. News media typically focus on the crime and violence associated with gangs, but not much else. This encyclopedia seeks to illuminate the world of gangs, including gang formations, routine gang activities, aberrations and current developments. One hundred essay entries related to gangs in the United States and worldwide provide a diffuse overview of the gang phenomenon. Each entry defines and explains the term, provides an historical overview, and explains its significance today. As the following entries demonstrate, gangs are part of the fabric of American society. They are not only in our communities but also our schools and other social institutions. Understanding the world of gangs is therefore needed to understand American society. Entries include: Bikers, Bloods, Cholas, Crips, gang mythology, gang warfare, graffiti, Hell's Angels, Hong Kong Triads, Latin Kings, law enforcement, occultic gangs, mafia, media, prison gangs, rites, Skinheads, Streetgang Terrorism Omnibus Prevention Act, tattoos, trafficking, Wanna-bes, West Side Story, Witness Protection programs, and youth gangs.

Complete Justice: Residual Functions and Potential Residual Mechanisms of the ICTY, ICTR and SCSL

The international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR), as well as the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) are due to close in the next few years. Technically, their complete closure in the immediate future is impossible, as there are a number of so-called residual issues that will need to be addressed for many years to come. These include the supervision of prison sentences, determinations on pardons and commutations, the potential review of earlier convictions, the continued protection and support of victims and witnesses, determinations on referrals and deferrals with regard to national proceedings, and the arranging of residual trials of at-large indictees caught after the courts’ closure. These ongoing obligations or residual functions – most of which involve judicial, registry, prosecutorial and defence activities – must be addressed by some form of residual mechanism or mechanisms. Options include extending the lifespan of the courts, establishing a joint residual court or transferring functions to another court. Comprehensive solutions are required and the international community will have to make a decision soon. At stake are fundamental human rights issues, the integrity, legitimacy and strengthening of the evolving international criminal justice system, and the legacy of the ICTY, ICTR and SCSL.

To Protect the Defenders Doing the Most Possible, Continuing to Do What Has to Be Done

Allow me to start my lecture by highlighting several important issues from the visit of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, Ms. Hina Jilani, during her visit to Indonesia on June 5-12, 2007. After her visit, in a press release, Ms. Hina Jilani stated that the situation in Indonesia has shown the prospect for the promotion of human rights, which in her opinion has vastly developed lately. Ms. Hina Jilani based her opinion on several positive steps taken to strengthen the legal and institutional framework for the promotion of human rights. In regards to the legal framework, Ms. Hina Jilani specifically mentioned the Constitutional amendments in 2000 which contain stipulations that guarantee the fulfillment of human rights and basic freedoms, the passing of Law No. 39, 1999 on Human Rights and the Law on Witness and Victim Protection namely Law No. 13, 2006. Here I would like to add the ratification of main international human rights instruments, namely the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Upon institutional development, Ms. Jilani put forth the establishment of The Commission of Human Rights with a stronger legal basis, namely the Law No. 39, 1999, the establishment of the Commission Anti Violence Against Women , as well as the establishment of Human Rights Court, which was established based on Law No. 26 year 2000 on Human Rights Court as well as the establishment of the Constitutional Court.

Developments in State Witness Protection Programmes: The Italian Experience in an International Comparative Perspective

Across the world, there is growing concern about the intimidation of witnesses in organized crime investigations and the impact of this in terms of undermining both public confidence in the criminal justice system and its effectiveness. Recognition of these problems has prompted many governments to invest in state witness protection programmes. This article examines the Italian State Witness Protection Programme in a comparative international context in order to understand what lessons can be learnt from it. In particular, it asks what can be learnt from (1) the law and the structure of the protection programme, (2) the challenges of turning criminals into effective state witnesses and (3) the importance of public opinion. It concludes that state witness protection programmes are a fundamental part of the fight against organized crime, but what is needed to make them efficient include resources, skilled personnel and political will.

Shifts in thinking concerning law of criminal procedure in witness protection

The essay deals with the new approach of criminal procedural law concerning witnesses. The witness protection problem has been in the center of academic discussion for the last two decades. The question has crucial importance within the European Union in light of the principle of mutual recognition. Acceptance of minimum standards in this field could facilitate the emergence of this corner stone of the judicial co-operation. The article provides an overview on the efforts made in international and european level. Analyses the notion of witness and some principles of criminal procedure in connection with the witness protection. Finally it gives an insight into the hungarian regulation.