Are historians or other country specialists needed in the investigation and prosecution of crimes under international law? Experiences at international tribunals, from the Nuremberg Trials to the present, offer different answers to this question. This article argues that country specialists are indispensable and demonstrates how, time and again, in international or national settings, practical necessities have led to structural models in which lawyers, investigators and country specialists work together. A ‘best practices’ model for interdisciplinary investigations adopted by a group of national and international prosecution units is presented in detail. When creating new international tribunals, the UN did not incorporate this model. What is needed for future tribunals is a structural framework of the Office of the Prosecutor, which includes country specialists.
