Digital Evidence Database: Release and Related Expert Workshop

 

The International Nuremberg Principles Academy is pleased to announce the release of its ‘Digital Evidence Database’, a unique online tool that provides a comprehensive collection of material on digital evidence. This repository results from its ongoing interdisciplinary project ‘E-procedure: Evidence in Time of Increased Use of Technology and Digitalisation’, which seeks to explore challenges related to the use of digital evidence in international criminal proceedings.

The database was released on the occasion of an expert workshop that took place on 17 March 2021. The event was held online as a Zoom meeting and welcomed experts from various fields, including practitioners, judges, academics and young professionals aspiring to advance some of the correlated issues arising from the increased usage of digital evidence.

The Digital Evidence Database aims to compile a broad collection of guidelines and handbooks and incorporates material relevant to the analysis, examination, verification and submission of digital evidence to judicial and quasi-judicial bodies. After the brief presentation of the work of the Nuremberg Academy, the workshop focused on the functionalities and current scope of the database. It discussed in particular the searching, sorting and bookmarking functions. The workshop highlighted some keywords and thematic areas that were considered, including different types of digital evidence and work processes relevant to its handling.

In 2021, the Nuremberg Academy plans on expanding the functionalities of the database, including potentially a full-text search, to the extent that this will be manageable. It aims to continue analysing the guidelines and manuals and tagging the entries ensuring proper categorisation of the collected material. To do so effectively, the Academy welcomes, and has started collecting, feedback from relevant stakeholders on both a) database functionalities, and b) potential additional guidelines and manuals that are of use to their daily practice and research. As part of the workshop, experts from the field of digital preservation, data management and information sharing, among others, provided feedback and reflected on the importance and relevance of the database in the field of international criminal law.

The database is designed to ensure its accessibility, user-friendliness and searchability. Investigators, first responders, practitioners, policymakers, researchers, students, activists and many others are the target audience of this database.

You can access the Digital Evidence Database here.