On May 7, 2025, an online event titled "eyeWitness to Atrocities as a Tool for Collecting Digital Evidence of International Crimes in Ukraine: First Judicial Practice" was held, organized by the Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA), the National School of Judges of Ukraine (NSJU), and the International Bar Association (IBA). The event brought together judges, lawyers, and experts from across the country to discuss the initial results of using the eyeWitness to Atrocities app for documenting war crimes in Ukraine.

The eyeWitness to Atrocities app is a free mobile application developed by the IBA in 2015 to document war crimes and human rights violations. Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, more than 55,000 photos, videos, and audio recordings have been collected using the app. These materials contain unalterable metadata that verify the time, date, and location of capture, ensuring their authenticity and compliance with international evidentiary standards. Learn more about the app here.

The event was moderated by Elizabeth Kovtiuk, Trainer of the National School of Judges of Ukraine. The main speakers included Carrie Bowker, Director, EyeWitness to Atrocities, who presented the app’s core capabilities and emphasized its importance for documenting evidence of international crimes, and Dmytro Hladkyi, Lawyer, Coordinator of EyeWitness to Atrocities in Ukraine, who shared his personal experience documenting the shelling in Zaporizhzhia using the app.

During the event, participants discussed the first court decisions based on evidence collected using the eyeWitness to Atrocities app. For example, the Commercial Court of Kharkiv Oblast has already used this material in three cases related to compensation claims for damage to non-residential property, while the Kharkiv District Administrative Court reviewed a case challenging a tax decision, citing the destruction of vital financial documents and IT infrastructure during a bombing as a key factor.

Dmytro Hladkyi emphasized that the first cases in Ukraine using eyeWitness evidence have already set precedents for the further use of digital evidence in court proceedings.

"The name of the app speaks for itself — 'eyeWitness to Atrocities.' We believe that this tool is a crucial step toward achieving justice and holding all those responsible for war crimes in Ukraine accountable," Hladkyi said.