Multiparty trust levels in evidence management: Ensuring tamper-proof chain of custody in blockchain.

Abstract International Criminal Courts (ICCs) are guarantors that justice can be achieved for the most egregious crimes against humanity and that surviving victims of those crimes can live with the assurance that the perpetrators will be held accountable for their actions. Those crimes are complex, sensitive and could be used as a weapon for an intervenient’ s own purpose and interests. As such, the credibility of these institutions is often attacked, and it is of critical importance that the process in which they pursue their mandate is rigorous and effective. Evidence sits at the core of the judicial process, and the participants rely on it to be authentic, integer and untampered with to ensure the fairness of the proceedings. Without enforcing powers, these ICCs could rely extensively on evidence provided by other parties to build a strong case from inception to the appeals stage. With the increased digitization of evidence, cyberthreats, size and complexity of evidence, traditional methods of managing the chain of custody are becoming vulnerable to the successful act of challenging the admissibility of evidence. Blockchain could be the answer for strengthening the chain of custody in evidence management, as this technology brings essential characteristics such as timestamping, authentication, immutability and trust among independent parties. This research conceives and designs a blockchainbased framework that maintains a tamperproof chain of custody and multilevel trust in evidence management. It ensures the authenticity and indisputability of evidence in judicial proceedings.