International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Forensic Document Examination

It has been recognised that forensic science plays a role in international investigations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. These investigations are paramount in breaking of the cycle of violence and thereby starting the process of reconciliation needed in society. The difficulty in how to establish a cadre of forensic scientists for such needs in a timely, flexible and economic manner is not easily overcome by traditional mechanisms.
Justice Rapid Response (JRR) is an intergovernmental facility developed to offer the needed adaptability and expeditious response to such international incidents. In operation since 2009, it has a roster of over 700 experts (2019) comprised of a variety of criminal justice professionals – including forensic scientists.
This paper provides a brief overview of JRR, a background of historic cases where document examination played a part, and how questioned documents arose in more recent cases before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Extraordinary African Chambers (EAC).