This article provides an overview of the so-called “Digitally Derived Evidence” (DDE) project of the Kalshoven-Gieskes Forum for International Humanitarian Law (KGF) at Leiden University, which... Show moreThis article provides an overview of the so-called “Digitally Derived Evidence” (DDE) project of the Kalshoven-Gieskes Forum for International Humanitarian Law (KGF) at Leiden University, which examines the different legal standards of evidence used before different national as well as international criminal courts apply to the assessment of international crimes. The project was launched in 2019 by KGF Director Dr. Robert Heinsch and his colleague, Dr. Emma Irving. They initiated and offered students at the Leiden International Humanitarian Law Clinic the opportunity to contribute to the research.The DDE project resulted in the online accessible Leiden DDE database, which offers the Leiden guidelines for the use of digitally obtained evidence in international criminal courts and tribunals as well as a wide range of online resources. These resources aim to make it easier for judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys to work with digital evidence. Furthermore, this online database aims to support international accountability mechanisms through the in-depth examination of evidentiary issues relating to digitally derived evidence. Show less
The global developments have shown one thing clearly: there is a lack of guidance and clarity when it comes to using DDE in the courtroom. Due to the fast evolution of digital technology and the ... Show moreThe global developments have shown one thing clearly: there is a lack of guidance and clarity when it comes to using DDE in the courtroom. Due to the fast evolution of digital technology and the (often, by design) slow evolution of courts and tribunals, the treatment of DDE within and between national and international accountability fora suffers from an absence of uniformity at best, and a lack of any useful guidance at worst. The Leiden Guidelines on the Use of Digitally Derived Evidence in International Criminal Courts and Tribunals (“The Leiden Guidelines”) were created to address this legal lacuna by examining the various ways in which DDE has been treated in international criminal law. The Guidelines identify overarching standards of treatment, derived from the jurisprudence of international criminal courts and tribunals (“ICCTs”), that practitioners should consider when collecting and tendering DDE. Show less
This dissertation situates the war in Syria within the actual and imagined system of international criminal justice. It explores the legal impediments and diplomatic challenges that have led to... Show moreThis dissertation situates the war in Syria within the actual and imagined system of international criminal justice. It explores the legal impediments and diplomatic challenges that have led to this tragic state of affairs and reviews a number of accountability solutions being explored within multilateral gatherings, by states, and by civil society actors, including innovations of institutional design; the re-activation of a range of domestic jurisdictional principles (including universal jurisdiction in Europe); the emergence of creative investigative and documentation techniques, technologies, and organizations; and the rejection of state consent as a precondition for the exercise of jurisdiction. Engaging both law and policy around international justice, the text offers a set of justice blueprints, within and without the International Criminal Court. It also considers the utility, propriety, and practicality of establishing an ad hoc tribunal and pursuing a transitional justice program without a genuine political transition. All told, the book attempts to capture the creative energy radiating from members of the international community intent on advancing the accountability norm in Syria even in the face of geo-political blockages within the U.N. Security Council. Show less
This book provides the first comprehensive legal analysis of the twelve war crimes trials held in the American zone of occupation between 1946 and 1949, collectively known as the Nuremberg Military... Show moreThis book provides the first comprehensive legal analysis of the twelve war crimes trials held in the American zone of occupation between 1946 and 1949, collectively known as the Nuremberg Military Tribunals (NMTs). The judgments the NMTs produced have played a critical role in the development of international criminal law, particularly in terms of how courts currently understand war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression. The trials are also of tremendous historical importance, because they provide a far more comprehensive picture of Nazi atrocities than their more famous predecessor, the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg (IMT). The IMT focused exclusively on the 'major war criminals'-the Goerings, the Hesses, the Speers. The NMTs, by contrast, prosecuted doctors, lawyers, judges, industrialists, bankers-the private citizens and lower-level functionaries whose willingness to take part in the destruction of millions of innocents manifested what Hannah Arendt famously called 'the banality of evil'. Show less
This paper explores international criminal law as a way to curtail the currently largely unfettered power of multinational corporations. With yearly turnovers that sometimes exceed the gross... Show moreThis paper explores international criminal law as a way to curtail the currently largely unfettered power of multinational corporations. With yearly turnovers that sometimes exceed the gross national product of states and corresponding political influence, such corporations not only theoretically can, but in the past repeatedly have, created detrimental effects for states and individuals in their sphere of operations. On the other hand, viable international solutions to subject multinational corporations to international rules and obligations comparable to those applicable to states are missing, except for voluntary partnerships like the UN Global Compact introduced by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan or efforts to make human rights obligations applicable to multinational corporations. The paper addresses the possibilities to extend the applicability of international criminal law to legal persons such as corporations. To that end, it shows how often-mentioned conceptual “stumbling blocks” such as establishing a corporation’s criminal intent (mens rea), corporate complicity, and means of punishment for corporations can be overcome, and hghlights the potential international criminal law bears to provide remedies to victims not only to crimes committed by states and individuals but also by multinational corporations. Only in extending the scope of international criminal law to multinational corporations, it is argued, can the former live up to its role not only as a means to punish but also to protect. Show less
