International legal standards for documentation and investigation of war crimes

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 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.