Procedural guarantees and evidentiary rules in the adjudication of war crimes cases

Over one year on from the Russian Federation’s military attack , Ukraine’s judiciary is responsible for ensuring justice and accountability and with it, addressing more than 75,000 allegations of war-related crimes, according to Ukraine's Office of the Prosecutor General.

Many of these cases require rulings on complex evidentiary and procedural issues. These must be managed alongside considerations of accountability for war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law (Stockholm 1992), judicial independence, the right to a fair trial, and the rights of victims (Moscow 1991). To build their capacity to address these issues, judicial officials can benefit from the lessons of other participating States, including sharing international good practices regarding the relevance and admissibility of evidence in war crimes-related cases.

This ODIHR webinar, held in partnership with Ukraine’s Supreme Court and the Swedish Defence University, is the fourth in a series of events for Ukrainian justice sector officials on the topic of accountability for war crimes. The purpose of this event is to share good practices on specific subjects and to facilitate an exchange of views between international experts and Ukrainian judges. Topics for discussion include judicial drafting practices that address elements of crimes, admission and submission approaches, common objections to evidence, relevant case law and international practices.

Participation in this event is by invitation only.

For further information, please contact Christopher D. Russell, Rule of Law Officer at christopher.russell@odihr.pl.