Security was not provided also in almost 10% of hearings before the Serious Crimes Court. b) Presence of court recorders and bailiffs Court recorders are essential component of the court staff, who are in charge of drafting hearing minutes. Hearings are not valid without the presence of the clerk, as what is said in the courtroom would not be recorded. Bailiffs on the other hand ensure that parties and witnesses enter the courtroom when required, thus ensuring the smooth conduct of criminal proceedings. With rare exceptions, court recorders and bailiffs were present at all monitored hearings, and effectively assisted judges carry out their work during the hearing. This is not to mean that court staff was always adequate. For instance, in the Ramallah First Instance Court a severe shortage of staff was observed: the number of registry employees is very limited (only one recorder and one bailiff are available). This means that when one of them is absent, another registry employee had to discharge functions as a court recorder or bailiff: as a result, sometimes the start of the hearings was delayed or the replacements had trouble managing the case files or type the minutes at an acceptable speed. In the Gaza First Instance Court, ISTIQLAL monitors noticed an insufficient number of administrative staff to move case files from one office to another. There also appeared to be no sign language translators in any of the monitored courts. ISTIQLAL stresses that a number of administrative staff commensurate to the court’s workload is essential to ensuring that Courts can carry out their work efficiently. c) Courtroom acoustics and size Adequate courtroom acoustics appeared to be a recurring problem in Palestinian courts. Sound clarity is an essential courtroom feature to allow parties to follow and participate in criminal proceedings. It also ensures not only that the court’s work is carried out smoothly and effectively, but also that the public can meaningfully exercise their right to attend court sessions and observe the trial. However, many monitored hearings were characterized by a difficulty by monitors to follow criminal proceedings because of poor acoustics. Courthouses in Ramallah, Jericho and Gaza were the worst in terms of sound quality. In the Ramallah First Instance Court, for instance, part of the problem is that there is no waiting area for parties who are outside of the courtroom. Parties have to wait while standing in a narrow corridor, which often becomes overcrowded and noisy, thus disturbing also the activities being carried out in the nearby courtroom. In the Jericho First Instance Court, sound quality inside the courthouse was so poor that parties had difficulties even hearing their case being called, which led to unnecessary delays in the proceedings. Courtroom size was also sometimes a matter of concern. While some court premises appeared adequate, such as those of the Jericho Court of First Instance, others did not seem fit to accommodate larger numbers of detainees. This was the case for instance in Khan Yunis, 25