How to Document Human Rights Cases in a Way That Holds Up in Court
Who this is for
You document human rights violations — GBV cases, police brutality, forced evictions, arbitrary detention. Case officers collect statements and evidence in the field and bring them back to be compiled into case files. Some of those files will eventually go to court, or to a UN body, or to a national human rights institution. Right now they live across notebooks, WhatsApp messages, and personal phones — and chain of custody is more of an aspiration than a documented reality.
The problem
A case documented in a notebook, cross-referenced with a WhatsApp screenshot, and partially stored on a case officer's personal phone isn't evidence — it's a story that can't be authenticated. Courts require a clear chain of custody: who collected the evidence, when they collected it, in what condition, and whether it's been altered since. When a critical survivor statement is on a phone that was lost, or a photo of injuries has no timestamp or location data, the case can be dismissed on procedural grounds before the facts are even considered. The documentation failure has three separate costs. Legally, cases collapse. For safety, survivors and witnesses are exposed without accountability being achieved. And for the organization, donors who fund human rights documentation increasingly require evidence management standards that demonstrably meet international legal practice guidelines — not notebooks and WhatsApp.
What you can achieve
- Every case is documented through an enforced workflow — evidence uploaded, timestamped, and immediately tamper-evident from the moment of submission, regardless of who captured it
- Chain of custody is structural: each step is attributed to the specific case officer with timestamps that can't be altered after the fact
- PDF exports carry file hashes and timestamps that support court admissibility and meet international legal evidence management standards
- Consent documentation is an enforced gate — no case progresses without it, which protects survivors and the organization from procedural challenges
- Case completeness rates improve significantly when the workflow enforces what must be captured at each step before the case can be submitted for legal review
- Legal officer sign-offs are documented: every case that proceeds to action has a named authorizing officer and a timestamped approval record
The workflow in Hakiki
- 1Case Reference NumberText
Enter system-assigned case reference number — creates the unique identifier for the full case record
- 2Incident TypeOne choice
Select: Police Brutality / Land Eviction / GBV / Arbitrary Detention / Other — drives the required documentation steps
- 3Date & Location of IncidentText
Enter exact date and precise location of the incident as reported by the survivor or witness
- 4Survivor/Witness Consent FormFile upload
Upload signed informed consent form — documentation cannot proceed without explicit consent
- 5Written Statement (Scanned)File upload
Upload scanned copy of the written statement signed by the survivor or witness
- 6Medical ReportFile upload
Upload medical report if injuries were sustained — critical for GBV and brutality cases
- 7Photo EvidenceFile upload
Upload all photographic evidence — injuries, property damage, or location documentation
- 8Witness IdentificationFile upload
Upload witness identification document — establishes identity as part of chain of custody
- 9Perpetrator / Institution DetailsText
Enter name of institution, officer, or individual — badge number, uniform details, or organizational affiliation
- 10Additional ContextText
Enter any additional context, corroborating information, or case officer observations
- 11Legal Officer ReviewReview
Legal officer reviews complete case file and approves for legal action or refers for additional investigation
Hakiki features used
More in NGOs & Social Sector
Set this up for your team.
Start a free trial and build the workflow above. No card needed.