International Criminal Court Office of the Prosecutor and Eurojust Release Guidelines for Documenting and Preserving Evidence of International Crimes

26-09-2022

Ryan Haigh

International Justice and Human Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence

On 21 September 2022, ICC Prosecutor Kharim Khan and Eurojust President Ladislav Hamran jointly announced the publication of practical guidelines for civil society organizations on documenting war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. [1] The guidelines were created in collaboration with the Genocide Network.  This project was precipitated by the war in Ukraine, where many NGOs and civil society organizations are participating in the collection of potential evidence.  Despite best intentions, if the evidence is not properly documented and preserved by these groups, it may prove to be inadmissible at future trials.  The guidelines provide advice regarding:

• approaching vulnerable persons, 
• taking statements, photographs and video,
• handling physical and digital evidence,
• storage and safeguarding protocols
• analysing the collected materials. 

The guidelines provide checklists and forms that can be used for these purposes, which should streamline the approach of various organizations. 

This effort was preceded by the Office of the Prosecutors (OTP) act of joining Eurojust’s Joint Investigative Task Force (JITF).  It is the first time that the OTP has officially participated in an EU investigation.  The JITF currently consists of representatives of Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia, Estonia, and Latvia.  The release of these guidelines will be followed by an online technical briefing by the OTP to be held on 6 October 2022.  The guidelines will also contribute to discussions at the upcoming ICC-OTP NGO Thematic Roundtable on Issues of Crimes Against Children. 

While these guidelines address issues regarding the collection and maintaining evidence, additional challenges remain. Coordinating efforts between organizations has proven to be difficult. Groups may work at cross purposes due to a lack of knowledge regarding the activities of other organizations. Second, when victims are interviewed more than once it increases the risk of re-traumatization and discrepancies between statements could later be used to discredit these victims at trial.  

The guidelines are currently only available in English.  They can be found at: < https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/publication/documenting-international-crimes-and-human-rights-violations>.

[1] Joint Press Release, ‘Eurojust and ICC Prosecutor Launch Practical Guidelines for Documenting and Preserving Information on International Crimes’ (Eurojust, 21 September 2022) < https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/news/eurojust-and-icc-prosecutor-launch-practical-guidelines-documenting-and-preserving-information> (accessed 26 September 2022).