![handle is hein.journals/cjtl57 and id is 1 raw text is:
User-Generated Evidence
REBECCA J. HAMILTON*
Photographs furnish evidence. Something we hear
about, but doubt, seems proven when we're shown a
photograph of it... [T]he camera record incrimi-
nates.
-Susan Sontag'
Around the world, people are increasingly using their
smartphones to document atrocities. This Article is
the first to address the implications of this important
development for international criminal law. While
acknowledging the potential benefits such user-
generated evidence could have for international crim-
inal investigations, the Article identifies three catego-
ries of concern related to its use. (i) user security, (ii)
evidentiary bias, and (iii) fair trial rights. Without
adequate safeguards, user-generated evidence may
address current problems in international criminal
justice at the cost of creating new ones and shifting
* Assistant Professor of Law, American University, Washington College of Law. I
served from 2007 to 2009 in the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court.
The views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Court.
Thanks for thoughtful editing by the CJTL team. My gratitude for stellar research assistance
goes to Deyaa Alrwishdi and James Purce. This Article has benefited from insightful
comments from Kal Raustiala, Andrew Woods, Molly Land, Maggie Gardner, Alexa
Koenig, Elena Baylis, Janie Chuang, Mark Drumbl, Nancy Combs, Saira Mohamed, Rachel
Lopez, Jen Daskal, Meg deGuzman, and from feedback received at the 2017 Mid-Atlantic
Junior Faculty Forum at Richmond Law School, the 2017 Women in International Law
Workshop at Duke Law School, the 2017 AALS Criminal Law Roundtable in Washington,
D.C., the 2017 American Society of International Law Midyear Research Forum in St.
Louis, and the 2018 Junior International Law Scholars Association Workshop at Washington
College of Law. All errors are my own. Particular thanks to Drs. Syzmanski, Miller,
Baschat, and the staff on the Zayed 8W Maternity Ward at Johns Hopkins Hospital for the
humor and humanity that got me through the three-month inpatient stay during which this
Article was drafted, beating the odds to secure the safe delivery of my twins.
1. SUSAN SONTAG, ON PHOTOGRAPHY 5 (1978).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/cjtl57&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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