31. The Appeals Chamber will consider these challenges in turn. At the outset, it recalls that it is within the discretion of a trial chamber to evaluate inconsistencies in the evidence, to consider whether the evidence taken as a whole is reliable and credible, and to accept or reject the fundamental features of the evidence.[1] The Appeals Chamber will defer to a trial chamber’s judgement on issues of credibility, including its resolution of disparities among different witnesses’ accounts, and will only find an error of fact if it determines that no reasonable trier of fact could have made the impugned finding.[2] Furthermore, corroboration may exist even when some details differ between testimonies, provided that no credible testimony describes the facts in question in a way which is not compatible with the description given in another credible testimony.[3]

48. The Appeals Chamber recalls that a trial chamber may rely on part of a witness’s testimony and reject other parts.[4] Furthermore, the Appeals Chamber notes that the Trial Chamber only relied on Witness SLA’s testimony where corroborated.[5] The Trial Chamber was therefore entitled to disregard Witness SLA’s claim of torture and still rely on his evidence with respect to the 25 April and 11 May Killings.

154. Regarding Setako’s contention that the Trial Chamber erred in its reasoning, the Appeals Chamber recalls that the task of weighing and assessing evidence lies primarily with the trier of fact.[6] Therefore, the Appeals Chamber must give a margin of deference to a finding of fact reached by a trial chamber.[7] It will only interfere where no reasonable trier of fact could have reached the same finding or where the finding is wholly erroneous.[8]

222. Setako’s submission that the Trial Chamber erred in dismissing his evidence for lack of corroboration due to contradictions in the testimonies of Witnesses SLA and SAT is unclear. If Setako claims that the Trial Chamber was compelled to accept his testimony because Witnesses SLA’s and SAT’s testimonies deviated from each other, the Appeals Chamber disagrees. The Appeals Chamber recalls that a trial chamber has the discretion to decide on the weight, if any, to accord to a piece of evidence, regardless of whether or not that evidence is corroborated.[9] This discretion is not affected by purported inconsistencies in other evidence.

71. […] The Appeals Chamber recalls that the Trial Chamber has the main responsibility to resolve any inconsistencies that may arise within or among witnesses’ testimonies.[1] It is within the discretion of the Trial Chamber to evaluate any such inconsistencies, to consider whether the evidence taken as a whole is reliable and credible, and to accept or reject the fundamental features of the evidence.[2] The Appeals Chamber further recalls that “corroboration may exist even when some details differ between testimonies, provided that no credible testimony describes the facts in question in a way which is not compatible with the description given in another credible testimony.”[3]

103. […] Furthermore, corroboration does not require witnesses’ accounts to be identical in all aspects since “[e]very witness presents what he has seen from his own point of view at the time of the events, or according to how he understood the events recounted by others.” Rather, the main question is whether two or more credible accounts are incompatible.

118. […] The Appeals Chamber recalls that, when faced with competing versions of events, it is the duty of the Trial Chamber that heard the witnesses to determine which evidence it considers more probative. Based on the foregoing, the Appeals Chamber finds that it was reasonable for the Trial Chamber to accept the Prosecution evidence over Witness Nahimana’s account.

154. The Appeals Chamber recalls that the Trial Chamber has the main responsibility to resolve any inconsistencies that may arise within or among witnesses’ testimonies. […]

110. Finally, the Appeals Chamber recalls that the Trial Chamber has the primary discretion to decide whether or not a site visit is necessary or relevant for the assessment of evidence. […]

353. […] It should also be stressed that with regard to the assessment of the credibility of a witness and the reliability of testimony, the Trial Chamber may accept a witness’s testimony despite the existence of contradictory statements.[1] It therefore falls to the Trial Chamber to assess the contradictions pointed out and determine whether the witness — in the light of his entire testimony — was reliable, and his testimony credible.

[…]

443. To be sure, the Trial Chamber should take account of any inconsistencies in a witness’s testimony. The Appeals Chamber, however, emphasises that it falls to the trier of fact to assess the inconsistencies highlighted in testimony and determine whether they impugn the entire testimony.  Moreover, the jurisprudence of both Tribunals recognises that a Trial Chamber has the discretion to accept a witness’ evidence, notwithstanding inconsistencies between said evidence and his previous statements, as it is up to the Trial Chamber to determine whether the alleged inconsistency is not sufficient to substantially cast doubt on the evidence of the witness concerned.[2] […]

[…]

501. […] the Appeals Chamber recalled that “where there are two conflicting testimonies, it falls to the Trial Chamber before which the witness testified to decide which of the testimonies has more weight[3] and/or whether the discrepancies are such as would cast reasonable doubt and/or establish that the alleged acts did not occur.”

21. The Appeals Chamber recalls that a Trial Chamber has full discretion to assess the appropriate credibility and weight to be accorded to the testimony of a witness;[1] corroboration is one of many potential factors relevant to this assessment.[2] A Trial Chamber retains discretion to decide, in the circumstances of each case, whether corroboration of evidence is necessary and to rely on uncorroborated, but otherwise credible, witness testimony.[3]

[…]

24. Nevertheless, the Appeals Chamber recalls that two prima facie credible testimonies need not be identical in all aspects or describe the same fact in the same way in order to be corroborative.[4] Every witness presents what he has seen from his own point of view at the time of the events, or according to how he understood the events recounted by others.[5] It follows that corroboration may exist even when some details differ between testimonies, provided that no credible testimony describes the facts in question in a way which is not compatible with the description given in another credible testimony.[6]

93. The second matter of principle of general application is the weight to be given to a statement made by a witness out of court which is inconsistent with his or her evidence in court. Where such out of court statement is merely hearsay, the common law denies it any value as evidence of the truth of what had been said out of court, and restricts its relevance to the issue of the witness’s credit.[1] On the other hand, the civil law admits the hearsay material without restriction, provided that it has probative value; the weight to be afforded to it as evidence of the truth of what was said is considered at the end of all the evidence. This Tribunal has, by its Rules, effectively rejected the common law approach. Rule 89(C) provides:

A Chamber may admit any relevant evidence which it deems to have probative value.

The application of that Rule was considered at the trial of Tadié, in a decision which was not challenged in the appeal.[2] The Appeals Chamber has since held that is now well settled in the practice of the Tribunal that hearsay material having probative value is admissible so as to prove the truth of what was said,[3] acknowledging nevertheless that the weight to be afforded to that material will usually be less than that given to the testimony of a witness who has given it under a form of oath and who has been cross-examined, although even this will depend upon the infinitely variable circumstances which surround hearsay material.[4]