A group of 15 students of a graduate program of social work with the University of Denver, United States of America, visited the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) today.
During the first part of the visit a representative of the Public Information and Outreach Section informed the students about the structure and jurisdiction of the Court of BiH.
Thereafter, a representative of the Witness Support Section briefed the students about the work of a witness support team and informed the students about particular situations with which the staff of this Section encounters on a daily basis when providing support to witnesses who give evidence in open session as well as witnesses who are granted protective measures. As part of the visit, the students were shown recordings from several trial hearings held before Section I for War Crimes of the Court of BiH.
The students demonstrated great interest in learning more about the work of the Witness Support Section and asked many questions; specifically, they wanted to know how one works and deals with this sensitive group of people, how one can facilitate their testimony and provide support to them before and after the testimony.
Professor Ann Petrila thanked the persons responsible for the organization visit, emphasizing that the visit to the Court of BiH is a very important element of the time spent by the students in BiH.
