Dissertation
Non-textual evidence in international criminal prosecutions
On 9 November, Jonathan Hak defended the thesis 'Non-textual evidence in international criminal prosecutions: discovering the best practices for audiovisual materials in a digital age'. The doctoral research was supervised by Carsten Stahn and Jens Iverson.
- Author
- Jonathan Hak
- Date
- 09 November 2023
- Links
- Non-textual evidence in international criminal prosecutions
This thesis examines the use of non-textual (image-based) evidence in international criminal prosecutions. This evidence frequently emanates from open source locations where the quality and legitimacy of the images are suspect. Further, the use of artificial intelligence to create deepfakes and other misleading images impedes the search for truth. Therefore, while non-textual evidence can be remarkably effective, it also poses significant technical, epistemic, and legal challenges. This work conducts an in-depth exploration of the use of non-textual evidence for proof and didactic purposes and emphasizes the need for improved visual literacy among counsel and the court. It identifies and explores existing challenges in the creation, acquisition, processing, and use of this evidence, and makes recommendations for how those challenges might be profitably addressed. The role of forensic analysis in image authentication, the detection of image forgery, and the assessment of image content is examined. This work examines emerging technical frontiers and advanced visual representations in atrocity crime prosecutions, with a focus on the use of virtual reality, immersive virtual environments, and augmented reality in the courtroom. It concludes with policy and practice recommendations for improving the current legal approach to the authentication and use of non-textual evidence at the ICC. Significantly, this work argues that the use of non-textual evidence in international criminal prosecutions is at a tipping point. It makes targeted recommendations for how to transcend the status quo to push the use of non-textual evidence to the next level in international criminal justice.