Photos, videos, social media: when does a digital footprint become actual evidence of a crime?

Open-source intelligence (OSINT), digital data and online materials are being used increasingly frequently in the criminal justice system. How can such information be utilised effectively and transformed into a practical tool for judges, prosecutors and investigators? The National School of Judges of Ukraine and the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) will be working together on this issue.

To this end, a working meeting took place on 24 September 2026 between representatives of the National School of Judges of Ukraine and the team from the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), during which the parties discussed future areas of cooperation in training and methodology.

One of the key issues was the development of methodological guidelines on working with information and digital materials for judges, prosecutors and investigators. The participants agreed to work on the guidelines with the involvement of representatives from all three professional groups. This approach will make it possible to take into account the specific nature of the work carried out by judges, prosecutors and investigators and ensure that the future document is practice-oriented.

Particular attention was paid to distributing, amongst members of the legal community, a questionnaire prepared by CIR on the use of the Berkeley Protocol. The results of the survey will help to identify the current needs and practical requirements of professionals working with open-source information and digital materials.

The parties also agreed to continue distance learning on the relevant course and to hold a separate face-to-face training session. Combining online and offline learning will provide an opportunity to deepen knowledge and develop practical skills in working with information, digital materials and open sources.

The cooperation between the NSJU and CIR is aimed at developing the practical competencies of judges, prosecutors and investigators in working with digital information and open sources, which is of particular importance for modern criminal justice.