Part II Planning an investigation Laws and standards Investigators need to know the legal, regulatory and ethical standards that apply to whatever matter is being investigated. In the case of national human rights institutions, this also means the human rights standards as set out in relevant human rights covenants and conventions. These standards provide both the context and a baseline to the investigation. For example, if the NHRI is investigating the treatment of detainees, there are internationally accepted standards that provide for the right to life and security and freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. There may also be similar provisions in the national constitution. They will almost certainly be directly relevant as the evidence is gathered and assessed. Witnesses A list should be made of who the investigator will likely want to speak to during the investigation, including a one-line reason as to why, as well as where those individuals are physically located. If possible, the method to be used to conduct the interviews – in person, by phone or by some other means – should be determined. Any preferred order of interviews should be detailed, explaining why, as necessary. For example, the first interview may be with the alleged victim, in order to gather more details relating to the complaint. Documents What documents may be relevant to the investigation? Who has them? Where are they? How many of them are there likely to be? How can they be obtained as quickly as possible? What will have to be done to make sure they are thoroughly reviewed, once they have been obtained? Physical and digital evidence If physical evidence is a consideration, it will be necessary to work out where it is, how it is going to be secured, whether a “chain of custody”28 needs to be established and whether expert assistance will be needed to preserve and examine it. If it is anticipated that digital evidence is to be gathered, the same questions need to be asked about sourcing that evidence. For example, is it likely that there is evidence on YouTube? If so, how can it be found and preserved? Might there be mobile phone video that has yet to be uploaded anywhere? Would CCTV footage have been recorded at the place where the incident occurred? Is there something on a hard drive that might be important? The National Human Rights Commission of India has a policy to conduct investigations into police shootings, which can be found at Appendix 1 of this Manual. It is a good example of focusing on what evidence might exist as the investigation is planned. The policy sets out the importance of identifying potential evidence and then collecting it. It covers interviewing the officers involved and independent witnesses, gathering any relevant audio-visual recordings, preparing a scene diagram and liaising with medical examiners involved in any post-mortem. 28 The “chain of custody” is the process by which an investigative agency can show chronologically where any item of physical or digital evidence was, what happened to it and who had access to and control of it, at any moment in time including since being seized by that agency. Chapter 5: Investigation planning | 35