Over the years, the IAP has received varied requests for assistance from members, and these have been handled on a case-by-case basis. In the process, lessons have been learned, one of which has been that, if the IAP is to provide the fullest assistance to prosecutors in difficulty, there have to be clear procedures in place. After several years of discussion within the Executive Committee on the best way forward, the Association’s Senate was asked in October 2011 to review the position, and to prepare a draft Protocol, indicating how cases of prosecutors in difficulty should be handled.