{"id":299,"date":"2023-10-16T16:30:38","date_gmt":"2023-10-16T15:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rcstaging.co.uk\/ehrac\/?post_type=resources&#038;p=299"},"modified":"2025-12-22T15:57:53","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T15:57:53","slug":"witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide","status":"publish","type":[],"link":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/resources\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Guide: Preparing Witness Statements in International Human Rights Litigation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t<div id=\"fws_6adaddc0994a9\"  data-column-margin=\"default\" data-midnight=\"dark\"  class=\"wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_row standard_section \"  style=\"padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; \"><div class=\"row-bg-wrap\" data-bg-animation=\"none\" data-bg-overlay=\"false\"><div class=\"inner-wrap\"><div class=\"row-bg\"  style=\"\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"row-bg-overlay\" ><\/div><\/div><div class=\"row_col_wrap_12 col span_12 dark left\">\n\t<div  class=\"vc_col-sm-12 wpb_column column_container vc_column_container col no-extra-padding inherit_tablet inherit_phone \"  data-t-w-inherits=\"default\" data-bg-cover=\"\" data-padding-pos=\"all\" data-has-bg-color=\"false\" data-bg-color=\"\" data-bg-opacity=\"1\" data-hover-bg=\"\" data-hover-bg-opacity=\"1\" data-animation=\"\" data-delay=\"0\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"vc_column-inner\" ><div class=\"column-bg-overlay-wrap\" data-bg-animation=\"none\"><div class=\"column-bg-overlay\"><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\r\n<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element \" >\r\n\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\r\n\t\t<p>International human rights bodies \u2013 including the European Court of Human Rights and UN treaty bodies \u2013 deal with the majority of cases on paper without holding an oral hearing. Consequently, written witness statements are the most important way of presenting the evidence of victims, or other persons, to the Court. As well as strengthening and humanising a case, witness statements also provide a crucial opportunity for survivors of human rights violations to tell their story.<\/p>\n<p>This guide, produced by EHRAC, provides practical guidance for legal practitioners on best practice in preparing witness statements. It was updated in September 2023 to include guidance on how to obtain witness statements in a survivor-centred way, in accordance with principles of <a href=\"https:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/resources\/guidelines-for-trauma-informed-legal-practice-for-lawyers-working-with-adult-survivors-of-human-rights-violations\/\">trauma-informed legal practice<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The updated guide (2023) is currently available in <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4qgiDzc\">English<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/44HrP7w\">Russian<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/48Q1nej\">Ukrainian<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>An earlier version of the guide (2019) is available in <a href=\"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Witness-statement-guide-2019-AZE-1-1.pdf\">Azerbaijani<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Witness-statement-guide-2019_GEO-T.O.-N.J.-2.pdf\">Georgian<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\n\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div> \n<\/div><\/div>\n\t\t<div id=\"fws_6adaddc099799\"  data-column-margin=\"default\" data-midnight=\"dark\"  class=\"wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_row standard_section \"  style=\"padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; \"><div class=\"row-bg-wrap\" data-bg-animation=\"none\" data-bg-overlay=\"false\"><div class=\"inner-wrap\"><div class=\"row-bg\"  style=\"\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"row-bg-overlay\" ><\/div><\/div><div class=\"row_col_wrap_12 col span_12 dark left\">\n\t<div  class=\"vc_col-sm-12 wpb_column column_container vc_column_container col no-extra-padding inherit_tablet inherit_phone \"  data-t-w-inherits=\"default\" data-bg-cover=\"\" data-padding-pos=\"all\" data-has-bg-color=\"false\" data-bg-color=\"\" data-bg-opacity=\"1\" data-hover-bg=\"\" data-hover-bg-opacity=\"1\" data-animation=\"\" data-delay=\"0\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"vc_column-inner\" ><div class=\"column-bg-overlay-wrap\" data-bg-animation=\"none\"><div class=\"column-bg-overlay\"><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sharing-default-minimal\"><div class=\"nectar-social default\" data-position=\"left\" data-color-override=\"override\"><div class=\"nectar-social-inner\"><a class='facebook-share nectar-sharing' href='#' title='Share this'>  <i class='fa fa-facebook'><\/i> <span class='social-text'>Share<\/span> <\/a><a class='twitter-share nectar-sharing' href='#' title='Tweet this'> <i class='fa fa-twitter'><\/i> <span class='social-text'>Tweet<\/span> <\/a><a class='linkedin-share nectar-sharing' href='#' title='Share this'> <i class='fa fa-linkedin'><\/i> <span class='social-text'>Share<\/span> <\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div> \n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"International human rights bodies \u2013 including the European Court of Human Rights and UN treaty bodies \u2013 deal with the majority of cases on paper without holding an oral hearing....","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":5526,"parent":0,"menu_order":22,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"country":[40,34,38,37],"theme":[],"class_list":["post-299","resources","type-resources","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","country-armenia","country-azerbaijan","country-georgia","country-ukraine","type-legalguide","type-legal-resources"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Guide: Preparing Witness Statements in International Human Rights Litigation - European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"&#039;Witness Statements in International Human Rights Litigation: Preparation Guide&#039;, produced by EHRAC, provides practical guidance for lawyers on best practice in preparing witness statements. It includes guidance on how to obtain witness statements in a survivor-centred way, in accordance with principles of trauma-informed legal practice. The updated guide (2023) is available in English, Russian and Ukrainian. An earlier version (2019) is available in Azerbaijani and Georgian.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/resources\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Guide: Preparing Witness Statements in International Human Rights Litigation - European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&#039;Witness Statements in International Human Rights Litigation: Preparation Guide&#039;, produced by EHRAC, provides practical guidance for lawyers on best practice in preparing witness statements. It includes guidance on how to obtain witness statements in a survivor-centred way, in accordance with principles of trauma-informed legal practice. The updated guide (2023) is available in English, Russian and Ukrainian. An earlier version (2019) is available in Azerbaijani and Georgian.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/resources\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-22T15:57:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Screenshot-2023-10-16-at-16.31.35.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1092\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1116\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ehrac.org.uk\\\/en_gb\\\/resources\\\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ehrac.org.uk\\\/en_gb\\\/resources\\\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\\\/\",\"name\":\"Guide: Preparing Witness Statements in International Human Rights Litigation - European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ehrac.org.uk\\\/ru\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ehrac.org.uk\\\/en_gb\\\/resources\\\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ehrac.org.uk\\\/en_gb\\\/resources\\\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ehrac.org.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/Screenshot-2023-10-16-at-16.31.35.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-16T15:30:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-22T15:57:53+00:00\",\"description\":\"'Witness Statements in International Human Rights Litigation: Preparation Guide', produced by EHRAC, provides practical guidance for lawyers on best practice in preparing witness statements. It includes guidance on how to obtain witness statements in a survivor-centred way, in accordance with principles of trauma-informed legal practice. The updated guide (2023) is available in English, Russian and Ukrainian. An earlier version (2019) is available in Azerbaijani and Georgian.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ehrac.org.uk\\\/en_gb\\\/resources\\\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ehrac.org.uk\\\/en_gb\\\/resources\\\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ehrac.org.uk\\\/en_gb\\\/resources\\\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ehrac.org.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/Screenshot-2023-10-16-at-16.31.35.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ehrac.org.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/Screenshot-2023-10-16-at-16.31.35.png\",\"width\":1092,\"height\":1116},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ehrac.org.uk\\\/en_gb\\\/resources\\\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ehrac.org.uk\\\/ru\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Guide: Preparing Witness Statements in International Human Rights Litigation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ehrac.org.uk\\\/ru\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ehrac.org.uk\\\/ru\\\/\",\"name\":\"European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC)\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ehrac.org.uk\\\/ru\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Guide: Preparing Witness Statements in International Human Rights Litigation - European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC)","description":"'Witness Statements in International Human Rights Litigation: Preparation Guide', produced by EHRAC, provides practical guidance for lawyers on best practice in preparing witness statements. It includes guidance on how to obtain witness statements in a survivor-centred way, in accordance with principles of trauma-informed legal practice. The updated guide (2023) is available in English, Russian and Ukrainian. An earlier version (2019) is available in Azerbaijani and Georgian.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/resources\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Guide: Preparing Witness Statements in International Human Rights Litigation - European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC)","og_description":"'Witness Statements in International Human Rights Litigation: Preparation Guide', produced by EHRAC, provides practical guidance for lawyers on best practice in preparing witness statements. It includes guidance on how to obtain witness statements in a survivor-centred way, in accordance with principles of trauma-informed legal practice. The updated guide (2023) is available in English, Russian and Ukrainian. An earlier version (2019) is available in Azerbaijani and Georgian.","og_url":"https:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/resources\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\/","og_site_name":"European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC)","article_modified_time":"2025-12-22T15:57:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1092,"height":1116,"url":"https:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Screenshot-2023-10-16-at-16.31.35.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/resources\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\/","url":"https:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/resources\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\/","name":"Guide: Preparing Witness Statements in International Human Rights Litigation - European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC)","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/resources\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/resources\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Screenshot-2023-10-16-at-16.31.35.png","datePublished":"2023-10-16T15:30:38+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-22T15:57:53+00:00","description":"'Witness Statements in International Human Rights Litigation: Preparation Guide', produced by EHRAC, provides practical guidance for lawyers on best practice in preparing witness statements. It includes guidance on how to obtain witness statements in a survivor-centred way, in accordance with principles of trauma-informed legal practice. The updated guide (2023) is available in English, Russian and Ukrainian. An earlier version (2019) is available in Azerbaijani and Georgian.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/resources\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/resources\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/resources\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Screenshot-2023-10-16-at-16.31.35.png","contentUrl":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Screenshot-2023-10-16-at-16.31.35.png","width":1092,"height":1116},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/resources\/witness-statements-in-international-human-rights-litigation-preparation-guide\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Guide: Preparing Witness Statements in International Human Rights Litigation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/ru\/#website","url":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/ru\/","name":"European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC)","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"}]}},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resources"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6708,"href":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/299\/revisions\/6708"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=299"},{"taxonomy":"theme","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/theme?post=299"},{"taxonomy":"type","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type?post=299"},{"taxonomy":"special-resources","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type?post=299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}