News
Exploring Digital Evidence Collection During Armed Conflicts
On 22-24 January, the research group on Crime Control and Security Law (CCSL) conducted an International Seminar on 'Collecting Digital Evidence during Armed Conflicts' at UiT-The Arctic University of Norway.
The seminar brought together experts from various fields, including international law, cyber security, and computer science, as well as practitioners from institutions such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Ukrainian NGO “Truth Hounds”. Truth Hounds received the Sakharov Freedom Award from the Norwegian Helsinki Committee in 2023.
These diverse participants engaged in interdisciplinary discussions, focusing primarily on recent changes in evidence collection and preservation. More specifically the role of technology in accelerating investigations at the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. The keynote presentations also addressed the role of open-source intelligence (OSINT) in documenting war crimes, and the current efforts to strengthen EU sanction tracing against transnational high-level corruption.
Following these discussions the seminar yielded immediate outcomes, among other things, plans for the eventual publication of select presentations in an edited volume dedicated to digital documentation of international crimes and hybrid warfare.
Additionally, the seminar facilitated the establishment of a collaborative network comprising practitioners, scholars, and students. This network aims to undertake similar projects in the future, focusing on documenting international crimes and countering hybrid threats.
The seminar also marked the inception of a series of meetings under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Project 'Hybrid Cyber Warfare and Common Security in Europe,' spearheaded by the research group member, Artem Galushko. This project, which received financial support from the European Commission's HORIZON Europe research and innovation program last year, will set the stage for collaborative efforts in addressing contemporary security challenges.
The international network established during the seminar will actively participate and contribute to the future events such as a training for civic activists and public officials, a research colloquium, joint publications, and activities aimed at security proofing of laws and policies in Europe.
Published: 06.02.2024
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Exploring Legal Hermeneutics and Technology: Two Upcoming Events You Don't Want to Miss!
On October 9th and 10th, we are hosting a masterclass and an interdisciplinary workshop in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law.
To attend any or both of the events please register by sending an e-mail to nandor.knust@uit.no.
October 9th: Masterclass - What does it mean to apply the law? Insights from Legal Hermeneutics
Featuring Ralf Poscher from the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security, and Law.
Applying the law is a practice which encompasses a variety of different analytical instruments. Most of these distinctions are deeply rooted not just in the legal methodological but also in the doctrinal and even institutional tradition. Likewise, and contrary to monistic accounts, hermeneutics is a set of distinct practices that are of variable relevance for different hermeneutical situations. It follows that when a lawyer applies the law to a given case, they will rely on a diverse range of hermeneutical activities. The complexity of legal hermeneutics is linked to the complexity of legal contexts, like legal interpretation, rule-following, legal construction, association, the exercise of discretion, and judgments on the significance of a legal provision. By highlighting how all of these distinct practices are linked to particular debates in analytic philosophy, this workshop seeks to shed light on a question that is vital to all lawyers: What does it mean to apply the law?
October 10th: Interdisciplinary Workshop - Modern Technologies and Self-Determination
Big data promises to radically expand our cognitive reach, allowing us to collect and process data and thus to generate knowledge on a scale we have never done before. This creates, according to a commonly held belief, an abundance of opportunities for furthering human agency such as more efficient policing, better protection of the environment, or a more targeted delivery of state services. It also, however, challenges a set of commonly held values of our legal orders. As we introduce automation into them, some of the values we hold dear may forever be transformed or even eroded.
This is why, in our workshop, by embarking on an interdisciplinary research endeavor, we want to assess how our legal societies can reap the benefits of modern technologies while still maintaining human self-determination. We do so by exploring challenges for legal concepts which are typically regarded as emanations of human self-determination, such as data protection, the transparency and explainability of legal decisions or the connectedness of legal processes to human communication
This exploration is clustered into three thematic sessions the diversity of which reflects both the fundamental ambivalence and discipline-transcending impact of technological progress. In a first session, scholars from the legal and philosophical disciplines will analyze how such technological innovations could pose a challenge for human self-determination. In a second session, computer scientists will presenting some of the technological innovations which could transform our field. The third session forms the synthesis of the first two. In it, we will discuss specific projects which aim at reaping AI’s promise while at the same time reigning in its peril.
Published: 05.10.2023
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