Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

This thesis critically examines how the International Criminal Court (ICC) evaluates open-source digital evidence (OSDE), including user-generated videos, images, and audio, in light of its growing prominence in atrocity international crime prosecutions. Drawing on doctrinal analysis of treaties, statutes, and case law from Nuremberg, the ICTY/ICTR, and the ICC, it assesses the ICC’s hybrid evidentiary framework and its three-part admissibility test (relevance, probative value, prejudice). The study finds significant inconsistency across Chambers regarding authentication and reliability, with flexible approaches in cases such as Lubanga contrasted by stricter thresholds in Katanga and exclusionary outcomes in Ntaganda. Technical vulnerabilities, including digital media metadata loss, anonymized sources, manipulation, and deepfakes, compound fairness risks, particularly for the defence, which often lacks access to the prosecution’s platforms, tools, and expertise. These asymmetries threaten equality of arms and may amplify visual bias in adjudication. The thesis concludes that, while existing rules allow pragmatic flexibility, they insufficiently safeguard fair trial rights in a digital environment. It recommends a unified OSDE protocol, early admissibility and authenticity rulings, enhanced digital literacy training for judges and counsel, resource parity for the defence, and transparent, structured reasoning on reliability and probative value to ensure consistent, rights-compliant adjudication.