# Legal Tools

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Legal information service developed by ICC

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Official logo of the International Criminal Court

The Legal Tools Database is part of the global commons.

The term '**Legal Tools**' refers to online legal-information services developed by the ICC Legal Tools Project since 2006, primarily with support from the European Union.[1] The main services are the **Legal Tools** **Database** ('LTD'),[2] the **Legal Tools Website**,[3] and the **Case Matrix**.[4] The anthology *Active Complementarity: Legal Information Transfer* provides comprehensive information about the ICC Legal Tools Project and its open access value-base.[5]

The *Legal Tools Database* is an online [database](/source/Database) on [international criminal law](/source/International_criminal_law). It provides legal practitioners, researchers, students and the general public with [open access](/source/Open_access) to all relevant legal sources in international criminal law, including information on the core international crimes ([genocide](/source/Genocide), [crimes against humanity](/source/Crimes_against_humanity), [war crimes](/source/War_crimes) and the [crime of aggression](/source/Crime_of_aggression)). Being a tool of [computer-assisted legal research](/source/Computer-assisted_legal_research), the LTD provides access to all relevant [case law](/source/Case_law), legislation ([statutes](/source/Statute) and [treaties](/source/Treaty)), preparatory works as well as academic writings.[6] All resources are stored under [persistent URLs](/source/Persistent_uniform_resource_locator) (so-called PURLs).[7] As a consequence, courts, publishers (for example, the [Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher](/source/Torkel_Opsahl_Academic_EPublisher)) and other online services (such as Lexsitus[8] and the CMN Knowledge Hub)[9] hyperlink to the LTD-PURLs. The International Criminal Court links in its main public decisions to the LTD. For example, the judgement of the trial chamber in the case of [Germain Katanga](/source/Germain_Katanga) included 538 [hyperlinks](/source/Hyperlink).[10] The LTD saw more than 6 million hits in 2018. As of 1 May 2019, it contained some 145,000 documents.[11]

The *Case Matrix* is another service of the ICC Legal Tools Project. It is a software that provides a matrix of the legal requirements of international crimes and modes of liability, on the one hand, and potential evidence or evidence, on the other. It has two digests of international case law quotations implemented at the level of elements of crime.[12] The digests are also available in Lexsitus.[13] There are online versions in English,[14] Arabic[15] and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian.[16] The Centre for International Law and Research (CILRAP)[17] has hosted and serviced the Case Matrix since 2012. The creators of the Case Matrix, Morten Bergsmo and Ralph Hecksteden,[18] won the 2008 Dieter Meurer Prize for Legal Informatics for its innovative qualities.[19] The Case Matrix has motivated and informed the development of software such as I-DOC.[20] The Case Matrix application has also inspired the name of the 'Case Matrix Network' which is the department of the Centre for International Law Research and Policy that is responsible for knowledge transfer and capacity development activities.[21]

The *ICC Legal Tools Projec*t ('LTP') has led the development of the Legal Tools since their start in 2003. Morten Bergsmo founded the Project[22] when he served as the Senior Legal Adviser of the Office of the Prosecutor of the [International Criminal Court](/source/International_Criminal_Court) (2002-2005),[23] and he has been the LTP Co-ordinator since. Devasheesh Bais is the Deputy Co-ordinator. Ralph Hecksteden has been the technical developer of the Project since 2005.[24] The Project is supported by more than a dozen academic institutions and [non-governmental organizations](/source/Non-governmental_organization) from all continents,[25] as well as by more than 40 CMN Fellows offered *pro bono* to the Project by the Centre for International Law Research and Policy (CILRAP).[26] The European Union and Finland have been the main donors to the ICC Legal Tools Project.[27] The institutional partners in the project have received support from other donors, such as Norway.[28]

## Contents of the Legal Tools Database

As of 1 May 2019, the Legal Tools Database contained more than 145,000 documents.[29] The documents can be accessed in a tree-structure, where they are organized in nine main collections.[30] Each collection has multiple sub-collections, and responsibility to update the collections is assigned to partners or CMN Fellows according to a detailed table of responsibilities.[31] These are the nine main collections of documents in the Legal Tools Database:

- International Criminal Court Documents

- Other International(ised) Criminal Jurisdictions

- International Legal Instruments

- [Human Rights Law](/source/Human_Rights_Law) Decisions and Documents

- Other International Law Decisions and Documents

- National Criminal Jurisdictions

- Publications

- [United Nations War Crimes Commission](/source/United_Nations_War_Crimes_Commission)

- International(ised) Fact-Finding Mandates

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["ICC Legal Tools"](https://www.legal-tools.org/en/what-are-the-icc-legal-tools/). *www.legal-tools.org*. Retrieved 2024-10-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Available at [https://www.legal-tools.org/en/search/](https://www.legal-tools.org/en/search/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** It is this site with pages: [https://www.legal-tools.org/](https://www.legal-tools.org/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["ICC Case Matrix: Case Matrix Network"](http://www.casematrixnetwork.org/icc-case-matrix). *www.casematrixnetwork.org*. Retrieved 2024-10-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Morten Bergsmo (editor), *Active Complementarity: Legal Information Transfer*, Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher, Oslo, 2011, 572 pp. (available at [http://www.toaep.org/ps-pdf/8-bergsmo](http://www.toaep.org/ps-pdf/8-bergsmo) ).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [What are the ICC Legal Tools?](http://www.legal-tools.org/what-are-the-icc-legal-tools/)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** See [https://www.legal-tools.org/purl/](https://www.legal-tools.org/purl/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Lexsitus"](https://cilrap-lexsitus.org/). *cilrap-lexsitus.org*. Retrieved 2024-10-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** See [https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/cmn-knowledge-hub/](https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/cmn-knowledge-hub/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** The Katanga trial judgment is available at [http://www.legal-tools.org/doc/f74b4f/](http://www.legal-tools.org/doc/f74b4f/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** See [https://www.legal-tools.org/status-of-work-on-the-tools/](https://www.legal-tools.org/status-of-work-on-the-tools/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** See [https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/icc-case-matrix/](https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/icc-case-matrix/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** See [https://cilrap-lexsitus.org/elements-crime-digest](https://cilrap-lexsitus.org/elements-crime-digest) and [https://cilrap-lexsitus.org/means-proof-digest](https://cilrap-lexsitus.org/means-proof-digest).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** There is free access at [https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/icc-case-matrix/online-icc-case-matrix/](https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/icc-case-matrix/online-icc-case-matrix/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** There is free access at [https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/icc-case-matrix/online-arabic-icc-case-matrix/](https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/icc-case-matrix/online-arabic-icc-case-matrix/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Free access is provided at [https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/icc-case-matrix/online-bcs-icc-case-matrix/](https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/icc-case-matrix/online-bcs-icc-case-matrix/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** See [https://www.cilrap.org/purpose/](https://www.cilrap.org/purpose/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** For background information, see [https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/icc-case-matrix/developers/](https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/icc-case-matrix/developers/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** See the press released linked to at the bottom of [https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/icc-case-matrix/](https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/icc-case-matrix/). See also [https://www.legal-tools.org/en/what-are-the-icc-legal-tools/](https://www.legal-tools.org/en/what-are-the-icc-legal-tools/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** See [https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/cmn-knowledge-hub/i-doc/](https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/cmn-knowledge-hub/i-doc/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** See [https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/activities/](https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/activities/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** See [https://www.legal-tools.org/en/status-of-work-on-the-tools/background/](https://www.legal-tools.org/en/status-of-work-on-the-tools/background/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-23)** See [https://www.cilrap.org/bergsmo/](https://www.cilrap.org/bergsmo/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-24)** See [https://www.cilrap.org/legal-informatics-section/](https://www.cilrap.org/legal-informatics-section/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-25)** See [https://www.legal-tools.org/en/status-of-work-on-the-tools/co-operation-agreements/](https://www.legal-tools.org/en/status-of-work-on-the-tools/co-operation-agreements/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-26)** See [https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/about-us/cmn-fellows/](https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/about-us/cmn-fellows/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-27)** The contributions of the European Union are acknowledged on the Legal Tools Website ([https://www.legal-tools.org/en/browse/](https://www.legal-tools.org/en/browse/) and subsequent pages) and in the Legal Tools Database itself ([https://www.legal-tools.org/en/search/](https://www.legal-tools.org/en/search/)).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-28)** See [https://www.legal-tools.org/en/status-of-work-on-the-tools/](https://www.legal-tools.org/en/status-of-work-on-the-tools/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-29)** See [https://www.legal-tools.org/en/search/](https://www.legal-tools.org/en/search/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-30)** See [https://www.legal-tools.org/en/browse/](https://www.legal-tools.org/en/browse/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-31)** See [https://www.legal-tools.org/en/status-of-work-on-the-tools/table-of-responsibilities/](https://www.legal-tools.org/en/status-of-work-on-the-tools/table-of-responsibilities/).

## External links

- [Official Website of the Legal Tools Project](http://www.legal-tools.org/)

- [Building a public commons of legal sources in international criminal law](http://www.legal-tools.org/fileadmin/user_upload/151117_LTD_leaflet__Second_Edition.pdf) (Leaflet on the Legal Tools-Database, PDF-File, 974KB)

- [Video: How to use the ICC Legal Tools](http://www.cilrap.org/cilrap-film/how-to-use-the-icc-legal-tools%28English%29/) (English, Centre for International Law Research and Policy)

- Official web site for the Case Matrix: [https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/icc-case-matrix/](https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/icc-case-matrix/).

- Official web site of Lexsitus: [https://cilrap-lexsitus.org/](https://cilrap-lexsitus.org/).

- Official web site of the CMN Knowledge Hub: [https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/cmn-knowledge-hub/](https://www.casematrixnetwork.org/cmn-knowledge-hub/).

v t e International criminal law Sources Customary international law Geneva Conventions Hague Conventions International legal theories Nuremberg Charter Nuremberg principles Peremptory norm United Nations Charter Genocide Convention Convention against Corruption Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime Convention Against Torture Rome Statute Crimes against international law Crimes against humanity Crime of aggression Crime of apartheid Genocide Genocidal intent Incitement to genocide Piracy Slave trading Starvation War crime International courts (in order of foundation) International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg Trials) International Military Tribunal for the Far East International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Special Court for Sierra Leone International Criminal Court Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia Special Panels of the Dili District Court Special Tribunal for Lebanon International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals International anti-crime bodies Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice UN Office on Drugs and Crime Related concepts Command responsibility Superior orders Joint criminal enterprise International humanitarian law International speech crimes Universal jurisdiction

v t e International Criminal Court (ICC) Legal texts International Rome Statute (amendments) Agreement on Privileges and Immunities Agreements on the Enforcement of Sentences Geneva Conventions Charter of the United Nations UN resolutions General Assembly 3314 Security Council 1422 1487 1593 1970 National American Service-Members' Protection Act (United States) Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act (Canada) International Criminal Court Act 2001 (United Kingdom) Twenty-third Amendment of the Constitution (Ireland) Völkerstrafgesetzbuch (Germany) Crimes Crimes of genocide Crimes against humanity War crimes Crimes of aggression Organisation States parties List of states parties Presidents and vice-presidents of the Assembly of States Parties Review Conference Court Presidency Judges (elections: 2003 2006 2007 Jan. 2009 Nov. 2009 2011 2013 2014 2015 2017 2020 2023) Prosecutor Investigations Official Afghanistan Bangladesh/Myanmar Democratic Republic of the Congo Darfur, Sudan Georgia Kenya Libya Mali Palestine Philippines Uganda Ukraine Venezuela Complaints Iraq Individuals Detainees Indictees Other Legal Tools Database American Non-Governmental Organizations Coalition for the ICC Coalition for the ICC European Union and the ICC United States and the ICC Armenia and the ICC World Day for International Justice

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Legal Tools](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_Tools) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_Tools?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.