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Recibido: 2025-04-02 Aceptado: 2025-05-24
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International legal standards for documentation and
investigation of war crimes
Loshytskyi, Mykhailo
1
E-mail: mloshytskyi@gmail.com
Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0533-0079
Yunin, Oleksandr
2
E-mail: ohlazunov@gmail.com
Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4846-2573
Kyslenko, Dmytro
3
E-mail: d.kyslenko.pvgiapm@hotmail.com
Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6929-4236
Tychna, Bohdana
4
E-mail: bohdanadana@gmail.com
Orcid: https://orsid.org/0000-0002-3948-4570
Dotsenko, Oleksandr
5
E-mail: olexdotsenko@gmail.com
Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2074-5715
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15598036
Abstract
The relevance of the study is determined by the need to eliminate multimodality
of information flows in documenting war crimes. Existing digital solutions are
fragmented, which complicates the integration of evidence into international
judicial mechanisms. The proposed digital platform will ensure standardization,
verification, and reliability of the evidence base. The aim of the study is to assess
international standards for documenting and investigating war crimes, identify
their shortcomings, and develop the concept of a digital platform for the
1
National Defence University of Ukraine
2
Dnipro State University of Internal Affairs
3
National Defence University of Ukraine
4
National Defence University of Ukraine
5
National Academy of Internal Affairs
Sección: Artículo científico 2025, julio-diciembre, año 5, No. 10, 1818-1855
Clío. Revista de Historia, Ciencias Humanas y Pensamiento Crítico
ISSN: 2660-9037 / Provincia de Pontevedra - España
Año 5
, No. 10, julio
-diciembre
, 2025
Loshytskyi, Mykhailo
Yunin, Oleksandr
Kyslenko Dmytro
Tychna Bohdana
Dotsenko Oleksandr
International legal standards for documentation
and investigation of war crimes
Página
1819
unification and legal legitimization of the evidence base. The study employed the
following methods: structural analysis, topological detailing, perfection analysis,
structural optimization, comparative analysis, parametric analysis, conceptual
modelling. The study confirms the need for a unified international platform for
documenting war crimes. The current system contains 17 structural elements in
three areas: regulatory framework, documentation and investigation, but is
characterized by fragmentation, political constraints and the lack of common
standards. An analysis of 25 digital platforms showed that 32% focus on evidence
preservation, 28% on Open source intelligence (OSINT) analysis, 20% on
archiving, and 20% on legal support and international coordination. The proposed
platform integrates blockchain, automated verification and multi-factor analysis,
which can increase the accuracy of documentation by 50%, reduce the time for
checking evidence by 60%, as well as significantly strengthen international
cooperation. The academic novelty of the study is the created model of an
international digital platform that unites the evidence base, automates verification,
and promotes international coordination of investigations. Further research should
focus on launching a pilot project of the platform to test its features, effectiveness,
and compliance with international standards. Important areas include integration
with national and international justice bodies and the development of mechanisms
for legal regulation of its operation.
Keywords: digital platform, digital documentation, multimodality, verification,
blockchain, OSINT analysis, international justice.
Normas jurídicas internacionales para la documentación e
investigación de crímenes de Guerra
Resumen
La pertinencia del estudio viene determinada por la necesidad de eliminar la
multimodalidad de los flujos de información en la documentación de crímenes de
guerra. Las soluciones digitales existentes están fragmentadas, lo que complica la
integración de las pruebas en los mecanismos judiciales internacionales. La
plataforma digital propuesta garantizará la normalización, verificación y fiabilidad
Clío. Revista de Historia, Ciencias Humanas y Pensamiento Crítico
ISSN: 2660-9037 / Provincia de Pontevedra - España
Año 5
, No. 10, julio
-diciembre
, 2025
Loshytskyi, Mykhailo
Yunin, Oleksandr
Kyslenko Dmytro
Tychna Bohdana
Dotsenko Oleksandr
International legal standards for documentation
and investigation of war crimes
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1820
de la base de pruebas. El objetivo del estudio es evaluar las normas internacionales
para documentar e investigar los crímenes de guerra, identificar sus deficiencias y
desarrollar el concepto de una plataforma digital para la unificación y legitimación
legal de la base de pruebas. El estudio empleó los siguientes métodos: análisis
estructural, detalle topológico, análisis de perfección, optimización estructural,
análisis comparativo, análisis paramétrico, modelado conceptual. El estudio
confirma la necesidad de una plataforma internacional unificada para documentar
los crímenes de guerra. El sistema actual contiene 17 elementos estructurales en
tres esferas: marco reglamentario, documentación e investigación, pero se
caracteriza por la fragmentación, las limitaciones políticas y la falta de normas
comunes. Un análisis de 25 plataformas digitales mostró que el 32% se centra en
la preservación de pruebas, el 28% en el análisis de inteligencia de código abierto
(OSINT), el 20% en el archivado y el 20% en el apoyo jurídico y la coordinación
internacional. La plataforma propuesta integra blockchain, verificación
automatizada y análisis multifactorial, lo que puede aumentar la precisión de la
documentación en un 50%, reducir el tiempo para verificar las pruebas en un 60%,
así como fortalecer significativamente la cooperación internacional. La novedad
académica del estudio es el modelo creado de una plataforma digital internacional
que une la base de pruebas, automatiza la verificación y promueve la coordinación
internacional de las investigaciones. La investigación futura debería centrarse en
el lanzamiento de un proyecto piloto de la plataforma para probar sus
características, eficacia y conformidad con las normas internacionales. Entre las
esferas importantes figuran la integración con los órganos judiciales nacionales e
internacionales y el desarrollo de mecanismos para la reglamentación jurídica de
su funcionamiento.
Palabras clave: plataforma digital, documentación digital, multimodalidad,
verificación, blockchain, análisis OSINT, justicia internacional.n solo bloque,
espacio sencillo.
Introduction
Documenting and investigating war crimes are key steps in ensuring
international justice and combating impunity. Despite the existence of
international legal standards, in particular the Rome Statute of the International
Clío. Revista de Historia, Ciencias Humanas y Pensamiento Crítico
ISSN: 2660-9037 / Provincia de Pontevedra - España
Año 5
, No. 10, julio
-diciembre
, 2025
Loshytskyi, Mykhailo
Yunin, Oleksandr
Kyslenko Dmytro
Tychna Bohdana
Dotsenko Oleksandr
International legal standards for documentation
and investigation of war crimes
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1821
Criminal Court and the Geneva Conventions, the effectiveness of these
mechanisms remains limited by political, technological, and institutional
challenges (Kljaić, 2024; Bienert & Grandke, 2024, p. 37).
The main challenges include political obstacles, technological manipulation,
and fragmented evidence collection methods. The use of veto power in the UN
Security Council, the refusal of individual states to cooperate with the
International Criminal Court, and the lack of a universal information exchange
system significantly complicate law enforcement (D’Alessandra, 2024, p. 311;
Malinauskaite, 2024, p. 75).
Technological aspects, in particular the multimodality of information flows,
the complexity of verifying digital evidence and the risks of disinformation,
further complicate the work of investigative bodies. The lack of agreed recording
data mechanisms and a standardized approach to assessing the evidence base also
reduce the efficiency of justice (Roman, 2024, p. 395; Grzebyk & Uczkiewicz,
2024, p. 48; Al-Billeh, Al-Hammouri, Khashashneh, AL Makhmari & Al Kalbani,
2024, p. 842).
The lack of a unified documentation system, the fragmentation of evidence
collection methods and the difficulties of their verification reduce the
effectiveness of investigations (Kuczyńska, 2024, p. 129; Peake, 2024, p. 57),
which significantly justifies the appropriateness of this study.
The aim of the study is to analyse the current international system of
standards for documenting and investigating war crimes, identify its
shortcomings, and develop the concept of a single international digital platform
Clío. Revista de Historia, Ciencias Humanas y Pensamiento Crítico
ISSN: 2660-9037 / Provincia de Pontevedra - España
Año 5
, No. 10, julio
-diciembre
, 2025
Loshytskyi, Mykhailo
Yunin, Oleksandr
Kyslenko Dmytro
Tychna Bohdana
Dotsenko Oleksandr
International legal standards for documentation
and investigation of war crimes
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1822
that will ensure the uniformity, reliability, and legal legitimacy of the evidence
base.
The aim was achieved through the fulfilment of the following research
objectives:
- Analyse the structure of the international system of documentation and
investigation of war crimes to assess its effectiveness;
- Detail the legal aspects and procedural issues of this system, forming a
typical scheme of its functioning;
- Assess the effectiveness of structural elements, identify the main problems,
in particular the impact of multimodality of information flows;
- Develop optimization solutions to increase the efficiency of documentation
and verification of evidence;
- Carry out a comparative analysis of digital platforms to identify best
practices;
- Conduct a parametric analysis of effective solutions to determine key
technical and legal aspects;
- Form the concept of an international digital platform, integrating structural,
use case, verification classification, and logical modelling.
1. Literature review
The relevant academic publications in the current chronometric horizon of
scientometric research are reviewed below in order to form the conceptual
framework of the study.
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ISSN: 2660-9037 / Provincia de Pontevedra - España
Año 5
, No. 10, julio
-diciembre
, 2025
Loshytskyi, Mykhailo
Yunin, Oleksandr
Kyslenko Dmytro
Tychna Bohdana
Dotsenko Oleksandr
International legal standards for documentation
and investigation of war crimes
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1823
Florczak, Jach & Rosłon-Żmuda (2024, p. 83) analyse the war crimes of the
Russian Federation in Ukraine, in particular genocide and crimes against
humanity, and also distinguish the crime of aggression. The authors study the
mechanisms of documentation, the status of international investigations and the
prospects for the creation of a tribunal.
Grzebyk & Uczkiewicz (2024, p. 25) studied the issue from the same
perspective, analysing international crimes in the war of the Russian Federation
(RF) against Ukraine, the challenges to their documentation and prosecution. The
authors also consider the role of international justice, regional approaches and
prospects for transitional justice with a focus on the victims of the described
crimes.
Similar issues were covered by Nwala (2024, p. 79), who assesses
international legal mechanisms for documenting and investigating war crimes in
the context of cross-border aggression using the example of the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict. The author analyses the limited effectiveness of these mechanisms
because of political complexities, historical contradictions and problems of their
implementation.
In contrast, Poole et al. (2025, p. 2) proved that 77% of medical facilities in
Mariupol were damaged during the Russian siege, indicating their possible
targeted destruction. The authors emphasize the inadequacy of current
documentation methods and the importance of satellite analytics for investigating
war crimes.
In turn, Rae (2025, p. 191) emphasizes the role of the media in documenting
war crimes and investigating cases that do not reach trial. The author shows how
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ISSN: 2660-9037 / Provincia de Pontevedra - España
Año 5
, No. 10, julio
-diciembre
, 2025
Loshytskyi, Mykhailo
Yunin, Oleksandr
Kyslenko Dmytro
Tychna Bohdana
Dotsenko Oleksandr
International legal standards for documentation
and investigation of war crimes
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1824
investigative journalism can complement international justice mechanisms by
drawing attention to war crimes and human rights violations.
Another aspect of the issue under research is shown by Veriandy, Rangkuti
& Rosmalinda (2025, p. 16), who argue that Russia’s provision of political asylum
to individuals accused of war crimes undermines international justice
mechanisms. The authors emphasize the need to strengthen legal instruments to
prevent abuse of the right to asylum and ensure accountability of perpetrators.
Hultman, Liyanage & Wieselgren (2025) also identified a problematic
aspect of the research, proving that the initiation of investigations by the
International Criminal Court depends not only on the gravity of war crimes, but
also on the political interests of member states. The authors emphasize the impact
of state referrals on the documentation and investigation process, which can lead
to selective justice.
Mokhiber (2025, p. 122) reiterates the systemic violations of international
humanitarian law in conflicts, including the targeted destruction of civilian
infrastructure and the use of starvation as a weapon. The author emphasizes the
importance of documenting these crimes for international investigations and
accountability.
In doing so, Kersten (2025, p. 15) analyses the evolution of the International
Criminal Court, including its recent decisions regarding the leaders of Russia and
Israel. The author examines the challenges facing the International Criminal Court
(ICC) and its role in the current system of international justice.
This view is shared by Subandi (2025, p. 379), who shows how the ICC
plays a key role in documenting war crimes in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,
Clío. Revista de Historia, Ciencias Humanas y Pensamiento Crítico
ISSN: 2660-9037 / Provincia de Pontevedra - España
Año 5
, No. 10, julio
-diciembre
, 2025
Loshytskyi, Mykhailo
Yunin, Oleksandr
Kyslenko Dmytro
Tychna Bohdana
Dotsenko Oleksandr
International legal standards for documentation
and investigation of war crimes
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1825
despite political resistance from individual states. The author emphasizes the need
for innovative strategies for effective international justice.
A review of international legal standards for documenting and investigating
war crimes reveals significant challenges in ensuring effective justice. The main
problems are the inadequacy of mechanisms for recording crimes, the influence of
political factors on investigations, the selectivity of international justice, and the
limited effectiveness of judicial institutions. Alternative sources of evidence, such
as satellite technologies and investigative journalism, play a significant role in the
documentation process, complementing official legal mechanisms.
A separate threat is the political protection of individuals accused of war
crimes, which undermines global justice mechanisms and creates precedents of
impunity. At the same time, current conflicts demonstrate the need for new
approaches to law enforcement, including innovative investigative strategies and
enhanced international cooperation. To increase the effectiveness of
documentation and investigation, it is necessary to improve legal instruments,
ensure the independence of international judicial bodies, and expand mechanisms
for accountability for war crimes.
The identified range of issues of international legal standards for
documenting and investigating war crimes, the need for detailed research and
development of this vector with the provision of innovative proposals for
achieving justice and efficiency in international law enforcement mechanisms
make our study relevant.
Clío. Revista de Historia, Ciencias Humanas y Pensamiento Crítico
ISSN: 2660-9037 / Provincia de Pontevedra - España
Año 5
, No. 10, julio
-diciembre
, 2025
Loshytskyi, Mykhailo
Yunin, Oleksandr
Kyslenko Dmytro
Tychna Bohdana
Dotsenko Oleksandr
International legal standards for documentation
and investigation of war crimes
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2. Methods and materials
2.1. Research design
This study was conducted according to the following scheme (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Research design
Source: created by the authors
2.2. Methods
The study employed the following methods:
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ISSN: 2660-9037 / Provincia de Pontevedra - España
Año 5
, No. 10, julio
-diciembre
, 2025
Loshytskyi, Mykhailo
Yunin, Oleksandr
Kyslenko Dmytro
Tychna Bohdana
Dotsenko Oleksandr
International legal standards for documentation
and investigation of war crimes
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1827
1. Structural analysis: the structural elements and the general structure of the
currently operating international system of standards for documenting and
investigating war crimes were identified for a preliminary analysis of the
effectiveness of law enforcement.
2. Topological detailing: a detailed analysis of the legal aspects and procedural
issues of the currently operating international system of standards for documenting
and investigating war crimes for the purpose of the creation of an appropriate
standard scheme.
3. Perfection analysis: a substantive analysis of the perfection and effectiveness
of each structural element of the standard scheme for documenting and
investigating war crimes for the identification of one of the main problems of the
documentation process — the multimodality of information flows.
4. Structural optimization: development of optimization solutions for the
structural elements of the standard scheme for documenting and investigating war
crimes, which allowed for the formation of the main rationalization solution – the
creation of a single international platform for documenting war crimes.
5. Comparative analysis: comparative analysis of current digital platforms for
documenting war crimes in order to identify effective practices, which will later
become the basis for developing an optimization solution for this study.
6. Parametric analysis: detailed analysis of the most effective practices of digital
platforms for documenting war crimes for creating a further concept of a
specialized digital platform.
Clío. Revista de Historia, Ciencias Humanas y Pensamiento Crítico
ISSN: 2660-9037 / Provincia de Pontevedra - España
Año 5
, No. 10, julio
-diciembre
, 2025
Loshytskyi, Mykhailo
Yunin, Oleksandr
Kyslenko Dmytro
Tychna Bohdana
Dotsenko Oleksandr
International legal standards for documentation
and investigation of war crimes
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7. Conceptual modelling: structural, use case, verification and classification, as
well as logical modelling for creating the concept of an international platform for
documenting war crimes.
2.3. Sample
Sample 1 consists of 17 structural elements divided into three main areas:
the legal framework (international treaties, conventions, UN resolutions, special
investigative commissions), documentation of war crimes (evidence standards,
evidence collection methods, witness protection) and investigation of war crimes
(jurisdiction of international and national courts, procedure for creating an
evidence base, interaction of investigative bodies).
Sample 2 consists of 25 digital platforms that document war crimes, ensure
their verification and integration into legal processes. They cover evidence
preservation (eyeWitness to Atrocities, WITNESS), OSINT analysis (Bellingcat,
Mnemonic), archiving of crimes (Genocide Archive of Rwanda, HURIDOCS),
legal support (OSJI, ICTJ), and international coordination (United Nations
International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM), Open Source
Investigations for ICC).
2.4. Instruments
Visual Paradigm Online (Visual Paradigm Online 2025) is a tool for
structural, use case, verification and classification, as well as logical modelling,
which was used to develop the concept of a single international digital platform
for documenting war crimes. Thanks to the capabilities of Unified Modeling
Language (UML) diagrams, Entity-Relationship (ER) modelling and Business
Process Model and Notation (BPMN), the platform provided visualization of the
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ISSN: 2660-9037 / Provincia de Pontevedra - España
Año 5
, No. 10, julio
-diciembre
, 2025
Loshytskyi, Mykhailo
Yunin, Oleksandr
Kyslenko Dmytro
Tychna Bohdana
Dotsenko Oleksandr
International legal standards for documentation
and investigation of war crimes
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1829
architecture, evidence verification processes and integration mechanisms into
international judicial mechanisms.
3. Results
The presented research scheme was used to conduct a structural analysis of
the currently operating international system of standards for documenting and
investigating war crimes using open sources of information (Table 1).
Table 1. Results of the structural analysis of the currently operating international
system of standards for documenting and investigating war crimes
Structural subdivision
Structural elements
International treaties
and conventions
Rome Statute of the ICC
Geneva Conventions and Additional
Protocols
Hague Conventions
Convention on the Non-Applicability of
Statutory Limitations to War Crimes
and Crimes Against Humanity
Resolutions and
recommendations of
international
organizations
UN (Security Council, General
Assembly)
OSCE, Council of Europe
Special Commissions of Inquiry
Basic principles of
documentation
Objectivity and Independence
Standards of Evidence (Berlin and
Minnesota Protocols)
Confidentiality and Witness Protection
Methods of collecting
evidence
Classical: Interviews with Victims and
Witnesses, Expert Tests, Photographic
Evidence
Technological: Satellite Monitoring,
OSINT, Digital Forensics
Medical Documentation: Forensic
Medical Examination
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ISSN: 2660-9037 / Provincia de Pontevedra - España
Año 5
, No. 10, julio
-diciembre
, 2025
Loshytskyi, Mykhailo
Yunin, Oleksandr
Kyslenko Dmytro
Tychna Bohdana
Dotsenko Oleksandr
International legal standards for documentation
and investigation of war crimes
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1830
Structural subdivision
Structural elements
Jurisdiction and
competence of bodies
International Criminal Court
Special Tribunals (Nuremberg,
Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda,
Possible Tribunal for the RF)
National Courts and Universal
Jurisdiction
Investigation
procedures
Establishing the Evidence Base
Cooperation of International and
National investigative bodies
Protection of the rights of victims and
witnesses
Source: created by the authors
The international system for documenting and investigating war crimes
(Table 1) has a well-developed legal framework, but its effectiveness is limited by
political influence, technological challenges, and institutional weaknesses. The
use of veto power in the UN Security Council blocks the establishment of
tribunals, and the refusal of individual states to cooperate with the ICC
complicates the implementation of justice. Technological challenges include the
manipulation of digital evidence and the lack of unified standards for its
verification. The lack of autonomous investigative mechanisms and weak
international coordination reduce the effectiveness of investigations. It is
appropriate to consider the introduction of new international investigative bodies,
strengthening cooperation between states, and improving evidentiary standards.
Reforming the ICC and increasing the binding nature of its decisions are key steps
to ensure fair trials in the field of war crimes.
Topological detailing of the results of the structural analysis of the currently
operating international system of standards for documenting and investigating war
crimes (Table 1) is used to determine the legal aspects and procedural issues of
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ISSN: 2660-9037 / Provincia de Pontevedra - España
Año 5
, No. 10, julio
-diciembre
, 2025
Loshytskyi, Mykhailo
Yunin, Oleksandr
Kyslenko Dmytro
Tychna Bohdana
Dotsenko Oleksandr
International legal standards for documentation
and investigation of war crimes
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applying the subject of research, while simultaneously applying an analysis of the
perfection of each element (Table 2).
Table 2. Typical scheme for documenting and investigating war crimes
Structural
section
Structural
subdivision
Structural elements
Structural element
perfection
War Crimes
Detection
Sources of
information
Victim and eyewitness
testimonies
Possibility of
distortion or
subjectivity of
testimonies
Intelligence and
surveillance data
Limited access to
confidential
information
Investigative journalistic
materials
Potential bias or
unreliability of
materials
OSINT (open sources,
social networks, satellite
images)
Need to verify a large
amount of data
Monitoring of
international
organizations (UN,
OSCE, Red Cross)
Dependence on
political decisions and
limited access to
information
Preliminary
analysis
Identifying signs of a war
crime in accordance with
international law
Complexity of legal
qualification in case
of hybrid conflicts
Identifying key figures
(victims, suspects,
possible witnesses)
Complexity of data
collection in active
conflict zones
Identifying potential
jurisdiction (national,
international)
Collision of national
and international legal
norms
War Crimes
Documentation
Evidence
collection
methods
Fieldwork: photo and
video recording, forensic
examinations, collection
of artefacts
Risk of loss or
destruction of
evidence at the scene
Medical documentation:
forensic medical reports,
Limited access to
medical data due to
ethical standards
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ISSN: 2660-9037 / Provincia de Pontevedra - España
Año 5
, No. 10, julio
-diciembre
, 2025
Loshytskyi, Mykhailo
Yunin, Oleksandr
Kyslenko Dmytro
Tychna Bohdana
Dotsenko Oleksandr
International legal standards for documentation
and investigation of war crimes
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1832
Structural
section
Structural
subdivision
Structural elements
Structural element
perfection
hospital records, post-
mortem reports
Electronic evidence:
interception of
communications, satellite
monitoring, analysis of
social networks
Risk of forgery or
manipulation of
digital evidence
Evidence: interviews,
witness statements, court
records
Possibility of
psychological
pressure on witnesses
Ensuring the
authenticity
of evidence
Standards compliance
(Berlin Protocol,
Minnesota Protocol)
Partial or selective
application of
standards in different
countries
Verification and analysis
of the reliability of
information
Difficulty in verifying
the authenticity of
data in different
sources
Ensuring the protection
and confidentiality of
witnesses
Insufficient
mechanisms for
witness protection in
conflict zones
War crimes
investigation
Jurisdiction
and case
review
International judicial
bodies:
ICC
Special tribunals
(Nuremberg, Yugoslavia,
Rwanda, potential
tribunal for the RF)
Political influence on
court decisions and
lengthy processes
Difficulty in creating
because of the need
for international
consensus
National courts:
Exercise of universal
jurisdiction
Interaction with
international bodies
Different standards of
justice in national
systems. Weak
coordination between
national and
international bodies
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ISSN: 2660-9037 / Provincia de Pontevedra - España
Año 5
, No. 10, julio
-diciembre
, 2025
Loshytskyi, Mykhailo
Yunin, Oleksandr
Kyslenko Dmytro
Tychna Bohdana
Dotsenko Oleksandr
International legal standards for documentation
and investigation of war crimes
Página
1833
Structural
section
Structural
subdivision
Structural elements
Structural element
perfection
Investigation
procedure
Opening of the case and
preliminary proceedings
Bureaucratic obstacles
in opening cases
Collection of additional
evidence, interrogation of
witnesses, analysis of the
collected information
Lack of resources and
delays in collecting
evidence
Identification of
responsible persons
Potential difficulties
in identifying those
responsible
Legal assessment and
determination of the
elements of the crime
Legal ambiguity in
defining the elements
of a crime
Transfer of the case to
the court
Lack of clear
mechanisms for
transferring cases to
court
Trial and
Sentencing
Case review
Presentation of evidence
and testimony
The need for long-
term examinations
and legal assessments
Analysis of the legal
qualification of the crime
Differences in legal
qualification between
courts
Protection of the rights of
the accused and victims
The possibility of
political factors
influencing court
decisions
Give
judgment
Court verdict (acquittal
or guilty plea)
Length of court
proceedings and
difficulty in enforcing
decisions
Sentencing
Difference in
sentencing in
international and
national systems
Possible appeals and case
reviews
Possibility of delay in
appeals
Enforcing
Court
Enforcement
Imprisonment or other
sanctions
Problems with
extradition of the
accused
Clío. Revista de Historia, Ciencias Humanas y Pensamiento Crítico
ISSN: 2660-9037 / Provincia de Pontevedra - España
Año 5
, No. 10, julio
-diciembre
, 2025
Loshytskyi, Mykhailo
Yunin, Oleksandr
Kyslenko Dmytro
Tychna Bohdana
Dotsenko Oleksandr
International legal standards for documentation
and investigation of war crimes
Página
1834
Structural
section
Structural
subdivision
Structural elements
Structural element
perfection
Decisions and
Preventing
New Crimes
Reparations to victims
Lack of effective
mechanisms for
financing reparations
Follow-up
monitoring
Monitoring the
implementation of
international justice
Low level of
implementation of
international decisions
by individual states
Documenting new crimes
Lack of a single
international database
for documenting war
crimes
Advocating for changes
in international law
Political pressure on
the processes of
reforming
international law
Source: created by the authors
Despite the developed regulatory framework, the effectiveness of the
international system for documenting and investigating war crimes (Table 2)
remains limited. The main problem is the formation of the evidence base, as the
relevant information flows are multimodal and come from disparate sources:
testimonies of victims, intelligence data, materials of journalistic investigations,
analysis of social networks (OSINT), satellite images, and reports of international
organizations, which often do not have agreed recording and evaluating
mechanisms. Besides, digital technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI),
significantly increase the risks of falsification of photo and video materials, which
requires the development of improved methods of their examination. This
complicates their integration into legal processes and increases the risk of political
manipulation.