The Court may conduct independent investigations into matters falling within its jurisdiction where there are reasonable grounds to believe that a serious offence or violation of this Treaty or applicable international law may have occurred.
The Court may commence an investigation: a. on its own initiative; b. following information received from a State Party; c. following information received from another State or lawful authority; d. following information submitted by victims, witnesses, individuals, organisations, humanitarian bodies, human-rights organisations, or other reliable sources; e. following information identified through public sources, media reports, digital records, satellite imagery, scientific evidence, or other lawful sources; or f. following a referral or request made in accordance with this Treaty.
The Court may conduct preliminary assessments before opening a formal investigation to determine whether the matter falls within its jurisdiction and whether there are sufficient grounds for further investigation.
Investigations shall be conducted independently, impartially, objectively, and in accordance with this Treaty and applicable international law.
Investigators may seek, collect, preserve, analyse, authenticate, and present evidence relevant to an investigation.
Evidence may include: a. witness testimony; b. documentary records; c. photographs and video recordings; d. audio recordings; e. digital communications and electronic records; f. financial and banking records obtained lawfully; g. forensic evidence; h. medical evidence; i. scientific and technical evidence; j. satellite or geospatial evidence; k. physical objects; l. publicly available information; m. expert evidence; and n. any other lawful evidence relevant to the proceedings.
The Court shall take reasonable measures to establish the authenticity, reliability, relevance, and integrity of evidence before relying upon it.
The Court may appoint independent experts where specialist knowledge is required.
The Court may request assistance from States Parties, international organisations, humanitarian organisations, scientific institutions, forensic organisations, law-enforcement bodies, and other competent organisations in obtaining or analysing evidence.
The Court may establish secure systems for receiving evidence and information from members of the public and organisations.
Persons providing evidence or information in good faith shall be protected against retaliation in accordance with Article 25.
The Court may issue lawful orders requiring the preservation of evidence where there is a risk that evidence may be destroyed, altered, concealed, or otherwise lost.
Where authorised by this Treaty and applicable law, the Court may issue search, seizure, preservation, freezing, or other investigative orders.
Investigative measures shall be proportionate to the seriousness of the matter and shall respect the rights guaranteed under this Treaty.
Evidence obtained through torture, deliberate cruel treatment, or other serious violations of fundamental rights shall not be admitted where the violation materially affected the reliability or fairness of the evidence, subject to the Rules of the Court.
The Court shall establish procedures for maintaining the chain of custody and integrity of physical and digital evidence.
The Court may use secure digital evidence systems, including cryptographic verification, timestamps, forensic imaging, and other appropriate technologies to preserve evidence integrity.
The Court may consider evidence obtained independently by journalists, humanitarian organisations, human-rights organisations, researchers, scientific institutions, or other persons where the Court determines that the evidence is relevant, authentic, and sufficiently reliable.
Publicly available information shall not be treated as automatically reliable merely because it is widely published. The Court shall assess its authenticity and reliability.
The Court may conduct investigations outside the territory of States Parties where lawful authority or consent permits, or where another lawful international agreement provides such authority.
Where an investigation concerns conduct occurring in a State that has not accepted the jurisdiction of the Court, the Court may preserve evidence and conduct such preliminary investigative activity as is lawfully possible while determining whether jurisdiction can be established.
The Court may issue requests for cooperation concerning the identification, preservation, collection, and transfer of