The ICC enters into the future: the digital-evidence revolution or evolution?

Abstract

Investigations into core international crimes should take into consideration the new, digital environment of evidence gathering. They cannot be conducted based solely on analogue means in a world that has become digital so fast. The ICC is taking an active part in the digital revolution in its investigations of core crimes, by establishing a new model of coping with the gathering, analysis, and management of digital evidence: the OTPLink and Project Harmony.  In this article, firstly the response of the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) to the digital environment of evidence-gathering is analyzed, whereby the OTP decided to use algorithms in order to more effectively manage evidence. The legal character of these new developments is analyzed, as well as the dangers they pose for the assessment of evidence and the fact-finding process. In this analysis it is also necessary to establish whether this is indeed a “AI revolution”. Further analysis will focus on answering the question whether the digitalized tools used by the OTP fulfill all the preconditions necessary in order to ensure the credibility and authenticity of digital evidence. At the same time it is necessary to distinguish between the case law of the Chambers that relies on the traditional assessment of open sources, and the Internet-derived evidence based on the revolutionized algorithm-based gathering and management of evidence by the OTP. To this end there is a need to analyze the attitude toward digital evidence adopted so far by the Chambers with respect to the assessment of digital evidence and the use of such evidence in fact-finding. The key question that needs to be answered is whether the revolution is taking place only before the OTP, whereas the Chambers adopt a more evolutionary attitude.