Why Ukraine Needs a Multidisciplinary Journalism Team to Document War Crimes
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Diplomatic Legal Hub
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2026/06/16
How Journalists Can Support War Crimes Documentation in Ukraine Through Berkeley Protocol Standards
The documentation of war crimes in Ukraine requires far more than isolated reporting or individual investigations. Modern conflicts generate an unprecedented amount of information: photographs, videos, witness testimonies, satellite imagery, social media posts, and open-source intelligence. However, not every piece of information automatically becomes admissible evidence before courts or international tribunals.
This is precisely where professional methodology becomes essential.
According to an analytical paper prepared by Scott Douglas Jacobsen, Independent Reporter and Coordinator of Diplomatic Legal Hub, journalists can play a crucial role in transforming raw information into preserved, corroborated, and legally useful evidence capable of supporting accountability for international crimes.
Beyond Reporting: Journalism as Part of the Justice Architecture
Ukraine is among the most documented armed conflicts in modern history. At the same time, documenting atrocities is not merely a media exercise. It is part of a broader architecture of justice aimed at ensuring accountability for violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses.
The challenge is not the absence of information.
The challenge is how to preserve, verify, classify, and structure that information according to international evidentiary standards.
This issue was highlighted during professional discussions concerning the architecture of justice in Ukraine and the practical implementation of international standards for documenting international crimes.
The Berkeley Protocol and Its Adaptation for Ukraine
The Berkeley Protocol establishes internationally recognized principles for collecting, preserving, and archiving digital evidence related to human rights violations and international crimes.
In Ukraine, the discussion has evolved toward the practical adaptation of these standards — sometimes referred to as “Berkeley Protocol 2.0.”
This approach seeks to ensure that evidence gathered by journalists, researchers, civil society organizations, and legal experts can ultimately be used by institutions such as:
- The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine;
- The International Criminal Court;
- International investigative mechanisms;
- National courts applying international humanitarian law.
Journalists Are Not Prosecutors — But They Are Essential
Journalists should not replace prosecutors, judges, or investigators.
However, they can become one of the central pillars of a multidisciplinary documentation system.
Their role is to identify, preserve, verify, and organize information that may later serve as evidence in legal proceedings. This includes:
- recording witness testimonies;
- preserving digital materials;
- documenting destruction of civilian infrastructure;
- collecting open-source intelligence;
- verifying geolocation and chronology of events;
- ensuring the integrity of information chains.
This approach enables the transformation of media content into information that may eventually contribute to accountability processes.
POW Interviews and International Law
The same principles apply to interviews with prisoners of war.
Such interviews must comply with the requirements of the Third Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law. Documentation in these circumstances requires strict ethical standards, legal safeguards, and professional methodology to ensure that evidence remains reliable and admissible.
Why Ukraine Needs Multidisciplinary Teams
According to the analysis, successful documentation of war crimes cannot depend on a single reporter or isolated investigations.
It requires multidisciplinary teams consisting of:
- journalists and war correspondents;
- lawyers specializing in international law;
- digital evidence experts;
- OSINT investigators;
- forensic specialists;
- human rights defenders;
- data analysts and archivists.
Only such cooperation can ensure that documented facts are preserved in a form suitable for future legal proceedings and accountability mechanisms.
Diplomatic Legal Hub’s Mission
Diplomatic Legal Hub supports initiatives aimed at strengthening methodologies for documenting war crimes, adapting international legal standards to Ukrainian realities, and fostering cooperation between journalists, lawyers, researchers, and international experts.
The ultimate goal is not merely to document atrocities.
It is to ensure that evidence survives, accountability is pursued, and justice is delivered.
Author: Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Independent Reporter & Coordinator, Diplomatic Legal Hub
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