PJI experts help national justice practitioners to:

  • Carry out complex criminal investigations where they were previously unable;
  • Bring indictments for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, torture, and/or other international crimes for the first time in their own courts;
  • Build confidence among victim communities in the justice system after years or in some cases decades of lack of trust;
  • Understand links between organised crime, terrorism, violent extremism, and trafficking and core international crimes; 
  • Integrate cases involving organised crime, terrorism, violent extremism, and trafficking into cases involving core international crimes.
  • Investigate and prosecute core international crime cases involving sexual violence, non-sexual torture, and mass killings, even where forensic evidence may be lacking due to passage of time or intentional obstruction of justice;
  • Institute analytical methods for managing large scale criminal cases;
  • Apply international law in their own domestic courts;
  • Strengthen informal witness and victim protection strategies to ensure empowerment of victims through participation in the justice process;
  • Adjudicate crimes under a theory of command or superior responsibility, holding current and former high-level authorities accountable for crimes committed under their authority; and
  • Strengthen the relationship between state justice officials and civil society organisations working in the justice sector, with the aim of collaborating to bring justice for victims. 

As a result of PJI’s interventions,

  • New pathways to justice are opened for victims where they live;
  • Victims have their day in court and are empowered through participation in the justice process and related remedies;
  • National practitioners integrate the knowledge and practical skills necessary to conduct international criminal investigations and prosecutions independently and to train colleagues and establish a robust international justice practice where they live; and
  • Post-conflict justice processes are strengthened, advancing the fight against impunity and building resilience to sustain peace and democracy long term.