When the Camera Becomes a Witness: Film as Evidence in International Criminal Justice

The use of film and video footage in modern international conflicts has become increasingly central to how international law identifies and prosecutes potential war crimes, and assesses other global conflicts. The intersection of film documentation and international conflict has strengthened with the globalization of social media and other filming resources in order to document events around the world. A recent example comes from the February 28, 2026 visual documentation of a U.S missile striking a military target adjacent to a school in Iran, killing over 160 civilians, many being children. Under the International Humanitarian Law, this has become a pivotal key for assessment by investigators and legal experts to see whether the attack violated fundamental international law.

In that incident, corroborated by satellite imagery and forensic analysis, shows a missile striking a military target next to a school, and this visual evidence has been submitted to the International Criminal Court, in order to reconstruct the event unfolding in real time, even when physical evidence of the scene may be limited. Under Article 69 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Court has broad discretion to admit all evidence which is necessary for “the determination of the truth,” allowing the growing usage of digital and film media in potential war crime investigations.

The significance in using the footage lies in its ability to form an IHL violation, assessing the principles of distinction and proportionality within the IHL elements. These principles require that international parties distinguish their conduct between civilian and military targets to ensure that any civilian harm is not excessive in comparison to the military advantages. In the Iran school strike, legal experts have emphasized the presence of a clearly identifiable civilian structure, alongside the civilian casualties, to be seriously concerning- raising IHL violations. If the harm to civilians, as in this matter, is found to be disproportionate, the strike could constitute a war crime, under the Rome Statute.

The use of film as evidence raises new challenges and a new field for international law. While some video footage provides immediate proof, it must satisfy authenticity and veracity. Courts must be able to determine whether such footage given before them has been digitally manipulated or taken out of context. This is significant in the growing world of technology where anyone can produce and circulate any piece of media, whether it be the truth or propagandistic. This concern has been raised in recent events, with the U.S government has been active in combining real war footage with cinematic elements, blurring the line between fact and fiction.

The prominence of digital media in documenting global conflicts raises higher concerns about due process and fairness in the international lens. Widely circulated footage, aside from concerns of whether it has been digitally altered, may shape public perception prior to a formal assessment of the video. However, this concern must be balanced with the power of film playing a crucial role in overcoming the censorship of the public, specifically in circumstances where international actors deny wrongdoings.

The Iran strike footage and many similar incidents show that film is no longer illustrative, it is a key player in shaping the legal and the public minds. As international courts continue to grow with this reality of the power of film, they must learn to balance the probativeness of visual media presented publicly to the world, which in essence transforms how international justice is pursued in the modern era.

Article Written by Archanaa Ramakrishnan

Sources:

The Guardian, Video Shows US Tomahawk Missile Hit Base Next to Bombed Iranian School, (Mar. 9, 2026), available at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/09/video-shows-us-tomahawk-missile-hit-base-next-bombed-iranian-school (last visited Apr. 23, 2026).

Human Rights Watch, ICC: Court Sends Duterte Case to Trial (Apr. 23, 2026), HRW, available at https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/04/23/icc-court-sends-duterte-case-to-trial (last visited Apr. 23, 2026).

Damaging Duterte Videos May Be Used in ICC Trial, Inquirer.net (Apr. 25, 2025) available at https://globalnation.inquirer.net/274277/damaging-duterte-videos-may-be-used-in-icc-trial (last visited Apr. 23, 2026).

Truthout, War Becomes Spectacle in Trump’s Horrific Propaganda Promoting War in Iran, available at https://truthout.org/articles/war-becomes-spectacle-in-trumps-horrific-propaganda-promoting-war-in-iran/ (last visited Apr. 23, 2026).

Video: Iran War Propaganda Resembles “Call of Duty”, CNN (Mar. 5, 2026), available at https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/05/world/video/iran-war-propaganda-call-of-duty-stelter-nc-digvid (last visited Apr. 23, 2026).