The problem of obtaining evidence for international criminal courts

International criminal courts will be judged by their fairness to defendant s as well as to victims. In a very practical way, such claims will hinge, i nter alia, on the ability of prosecutors and defendants to have reasonable access to probative evidence. But international criminal courts depend on s tates to provide them with evidence or access to evidence. The obligation o f states to cooperate with international criminal tribunals in the producti on of evidence was at issue in the recent decision of the International Cri minal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Blaskic case (1997). That j udgment and the provisions of the Rome Statute of the International Crimina l Court (1998) that address judicial assistance deserve investigation. Do t he rules propounded in Blaskic and in the Rome Statute create the right con ditions for the institution of fair trials in international criminal courts in our world today? Are such rules possible? The author argues that the di plomats in Rome failed to establish a procedure for the production of evide nce that will lead to the goal of a fair and effective trial. This is cause for concern if and when an International Criminal Court comes into being.