Abstract
A transcript of an interview with Gabrielle Kirk McDonald by Leigh Swigart and David P. Briand. The interview took place on July 15, 2015 in East Hampton, NY, USA, and the transcript, which is represented here, has been reviewed and edited from the original audio version. During the interview, McDonald reminisces on work with the first ICTY president, Antonio Cassese; contention among judges around trials in absentia and sexual violence; changes to Tribunal's original rules; Tadić trial; differing opinions around hearsay evidence; decisions made as presiding judge at the Tadić trial; deciding on the configuration of the first courtroom; personal impact on judges of hearing painful testimony; mutual support among judges sitting on the Tadić trial; the atmosphere of enthusiasm in the early years of the ICTY; friction between chambers and the Office of the Prosecutor; concern about early indictments not including charges of sexual violence; impressions from first trip to Rwanda and genocide sites; different qualities of infrastructure between ICTY and ICTR, and disagreement around release of ICTR accused Jean Bosco Barayagwiza. McDonald also discusses relation of former civil rights work to ICTY mission; development of the ICTY Rules of Procedure and Evidence, especially as they relate to trials in absentia and sexual violence; central place of US Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure in the development of ICTY Rule; debate around the possibility of allowing trials in absentia; how discussions took place between English and French speakers; role of submissions by women's groups in developing rules concerning sexual violence; civil and common law influences on ICTY rules; importance of contact between the ICTY and The Balkans for tribunal's legitimacy; the testimony of "Witness L" in the Tadić trial ; pressures and responsibilities of being the ICTY president; language challenges for judges who did not speak French, and development of an outreach program.