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  • Research Article

Conduct of Investigative (Search) Actions During the Investigation of Violations of the Laws and Customs of War

Nataliia Prodanets1, Valentyna Horoshko1, Olena Melnikova1, Inna Pozigun1, Igor Gorbanov1
1Department of Criminal Law Disciplines, Odesa State University of Internal Affairs, Odesa, Ukraine
DOI: https://doi.org/10.70517/revcc2624128
Published: 30/09/2026
: Nataliia Prodanets, Valentyna Horoshko, Olena Melnikova, Inna Pozigun, Igor Gorbanov. Conduct of Investigative (Search) Actions During the Investigation of Violations of the Laws and Customs of War. Revista Cultura Científica, 2026 Issue 24. pg. 1560-1572.

Abstract

The article examines the specific features of conducting investigative (search) actions during the investigation of violations of the laws and customs of war as one of the most complex areas of contemporary criminal justice. The significance of these procedural actions within the mechanism of criminal evidence is considered, as they ensure the detection, documentation, verification, and evaluation of information concerning the circumstances of war crimes. The study analyzes the specifics of conducting crime scene examinations, interrogations, investigative experiments, identification procedures, and searches under armed conflict conditions, taking into account security risks, temporary occupation of territories, changes in the initial situation, and difficulties in accessing certain sources of evidentiary information. Particular attention is paid to the peculiarities of interrogating victims, witnesses, and persons suspected of committing war crimes, including establishing the circumstances of ill-treatment, the mechanism of executing orders, the role of combatants, and the connection between specific acts and the international armed conflict. The article also focuses on the use of digital technologies, electronic evidence, special knowledge, and forensic examinations as essential means of ensuring comprehensive documentation of violations of international humanitarian law. It is substantiated that the effectiveness of investigating violations of the laws and customs of war depends on the integrated combination of procedural, forensic, and expert tools aimed at establishing the circumstances of criminal offences and bringing perpetrators to justice. The article proposes an approach according to which the results of individual investigative (search) actions should not be assessed in isolation but rather in conjunction with other evidence, enabling the identification of both individual episodes of criminal activity and the systematic nature of violations of the laws and customs of war.

Keywords: investigative (search) actions, investigation of war crimes, violations of the laws and customs of war, international humanitarian law, criminal proceedings, crime scene examination, interrogation, combatants, prisoners of war, evidence, forensic examinations.

Abstract

The article examines the specific features of conducting investigative (search) actions during the investigation of violations of the laws and customs of war as one of the most complex areas of contemporary criminal justice. The significance of these procedural actions within the mechanism of criminal evidence is considered, as they ensure the detection, documentation, verification, and evaluation of information concerning the circumstances of war crimes. The study analyzes the specifics of conducting crime scene examinations, interrogations, investigative experiments, identification procedures, and searches under armed conflict conditions, taking into account security risks, temporary occupation of territories, changes in the initial situation, and difficulties in accessing certain sources of evidentiary information. Particular attention is paid to the peculiarities of interrogating victims, witnesses, and persons suspected of committing war crimes, including establishing the circumstances of ill-treatment, the mechanism of executing orders, the role of combatants, and the connection between specific acts and the international armed conflict. The article also focuses on the use of digital technologies, electronic evidence, special knowledge, and forensic examinations as essential means of ensuring comprehensive documentation of violations of international humanitarian law. It is substantiated that the effectiveness of investigating violations of the laws and customs of war depends on the integrated combination of procedural, forensic, and expert tools aimed at establishing the circumstances of criminal offences and bringing perpetrators to justice. The article proposes an approach according to which the results of individual investigative (search) actions should not be assessed in isolation but rather in conjunction with other evidence, enabling the identification of both individual episodes of criminal activity and the systematic nature of violations of the laws and customs of war.

Keywords: investigative (search) actions, investigation of war crimes, violations of the laws and customs of war, international humanitarian law, criminal proceedings, crime scene examination, interrogation, combatants, prisoners of war, evidence, forensic examinations.

References

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  2. Lubell, Noam, Jelena Pejic, and Claire Simmons. Guidelines on Investigating Violations of International Humanitarian Law: Law, Policy, and Good Practice. Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights and International Committee of the Red Cross, 2019.

  3. Cherniakhovskyi, B. V. “Peculiarities of Conducting an Investigative Review during the Investigation of Unauthorized Interference in the Operation of Computers, Automated Systems, Computer Networks or Telecommunication Networks.” Naukovyi Visnyk Natsionalnoi Akademii Vnutrishnikh Sprav, vol. 25, no. 2 (115), 2020, pp. 58–68.

  4. Kobets, Mykola V. “Hardware-Software Complex ‘Cellebrite UFED’ as a Means of Obtaining Information from Mobile Terminals.” Current Issues and Prospects of Using Operational Search Tools in Crime Investigation under Martial Law: Proceedings of the Interdepartmental Scientific and Practical Conference, Kyiv, 30 Mar. 2023, National Academy of Internal Affairs, 2023, pp. 70–73.

  5. Koloniuk, V. P., Yu. Foris, O. Yudina, and V. Vynogradova. “On the Role and Importance of Forensic Expertology.” Kryminalistyka i Sudova Ekspertyza, no. 64, 2019, pp. 150–157.

  6. Stolitnii, A. V. “Electronic Conclusion of Expert in Criminal Proceedings.” Kryminalistyka i Sudova Ekspertyza, no. 64, 2019, pp. 102–111.

  7. Lupii, S., and A. Kryzhanovskyi. “Investigative (Search) Actions: Concept, Meaning and Types.” Visnyk Natsionalnoho Universytetu ‘Lvivska Politekhnika.’ Seriia ‘Yurydychni Nauky’, vol. 9, no. 4 (36), 2022, pp. 210–215.

  8. Honcharenko, V. H., V. T. Nor, and M. Ye. Shumylo, editors. Kryminalnyi Protsesualnyi Kodeks Ukrainy: Naukovo-Praktychnyi Komentar. Yustynian, 2012.

  9. Matiushkova, Tetiana P. “Peculiarities of Conducting Individual Investigative (Search) Actions under Martial Law Conditions.” Current Issues of Combating Crime under Martial Law: Proceedings of the All-Ukrainian Scientific and Practical Conference, Kryvyi Rih, 25 Nov. 2022, Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs, 2022, pp. 126–131.

  10. Dufeniuk, O. M. “War Crimes Investigation: Logistics, Forensic Science and Medical Issues.” Yurydychnyi Naukovyi Elektronnyi Zhurnal, no. 4, 2022, pp. 369–374.

  11. Pyrih, I. V. “Problematic Issues of Using Specialized Knowledge in Pre-Trial Investigation.” Current Issues of Forensic Expertology, Criminalistics and Criminal Procedure: Proceedings of the International Scientific and Practical Conference, Kyiv, 5 Nov. 2019, Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, 2019, pp. 433–437.

  12. Volobuiev, A. F. “Features of the Mechanism of Committing Sexual Violence in the Temporarily Occupied Territories and Its Investigation.” Kryminalistychnyi Visnyk, no. 1 (39), 2023, pp. 39–51.

  13. Rossokha, S. V. “Investigative Experiment during the Investigation of War Crimes.” Pravo ta Derzhavne Upravlinnia, no. 4, 2023, pp. 522–529.

  14. Hanba, Oleh, and Nataliia Radchenia. “Tactics of Conducting Investigative (Search) Actions of Presentation to Identify Various Objects in the Conditions of the Legal Regime of Martial State.” University Scientific Notes, no. 4 (112), 2026, pp. 27–41.

  15. International Criminal Court. Elements of Crimes. International Criminal Court, 2013.

Nataliia Prodanets
Department of Criminal Law Disciplines, Odesa State University of Internal Affairs, Odesa, Ukraine
Valentyna Horoshko
Department of Criminal Law Disciplines, Odesa State University of Internal Affairs, Odesa, Ukraine
Olena Melnikova
Department of Criminal Law Disciplines, Odesa State University of Internal Affairs, Odesa, Ukraine
melnikova_lena@ukr.net
Inna Pozigun
Department of Criminal Law Disciplines, Odesa State University of Internal Affairs, Odesa, Ukraine
Igor Gorbanov
Department of Criminal Law Disciplines, Odesa State University of Internal Affairs, Odesa, Ukraine

How to cite:

Nataliia Prodanets, Valentyna Horoshko, Olena Melnikova, Inna Pozigun, Igor Gorbanov. Conduct of Investigative (Search) Actions During the Investigation of Violations of the Laws and Customs of War. Revista Cultura Científica, 2026 Issue 24. pg. 1560-1572.

Publication History

  • Received: 20/07/2026
  • Accepted: 23/09/2026
  • Published: 30/09/2026
Copyright © 2026, Nataliia Prodanets, Valentyna Horoshko, Olena Melnikova, Inna Pozigun, Igor Gorbanov. Published by Revista Cultura Científica. This article is published as open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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