International Standards for the Investigation of War Crimes
Abstract
Abstract. The article is devoted to the analysis of international standards for forensic support in the investigation of war crimes, which is a key element in the effective functioning of international criminal justice, as well as its comparing with national legislation. In the context of modern armed conflicts, there is an increasing need to establish unified rules for the documentation, collection, preservation, transfer, and use of evidence that comply with the requirements of both national and international judicial proceedings. The study examines international legal instruments regulating standards for forensic support of investigations: the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Hague Conventions, as well as documents developed within the framework of the activities of the International Criminal Tribunals. Special attention is paid to the key elements of international standards: proper documentation of the crime scene and its consequences; creation and maintenance of a continuous chain of custody; the application of modern forensic methods, including digital, biological, and trace evidence examinations; as well as ensuring their authenticity and admissibility for international and national justice. Based on the practice of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, as well as the activities of the International Criminal Court, the article analyzes the requirements for the procedural integrity of evidence, their standardized processing, and transfer between authorities of different states. The article also outlines the problems of implementing international standards into national criminal procedure systems. Among them are the lack of unified forensic protocols in combat conditions, different approaches to assessing digital and satellite evidence, and limited opportunities for international exchange of data and expert information. The author concludes that the development of international standards in the field of forensic support for the investigation of war crimes should be aimed at unifying evidence collection and processing procedures, harmonizing national and international requirements, and expanding the use of joint investigation teams and international expert networks. The implementation of such standards enhances the effectiveness of war crimes investigations, strengthens the principle of inevitability of punishment, and increases trust in the international system of human rights protection.
Keywords: war crimes; international standards; forensic support; evidence; International Criminal Court; international justice.
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References
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