Digital Justice Center

Kamil Sobański has been awarded a START scholarship from the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP) as one of the 100 researchers. The program is Poland’s longest‑running scholarship initiative for the best young scientists across all fields, aimed at supporting outstanding young researchers and fostering their further scientific development.

Kamil Sobański is a PhD candidate at our Center. He specializes in criminal (procedural) law and international criminal law, and his current research focuses on the impact of digitalization on individual rights in criminal proceedings.

Since 2023, he has been working on his PhD dissertation under the supervision of Prof. Karolina Kremens as part of "Virtual Justice. Remote Proceedings before the International Criminal Court – Threat or Opportunity?" project, funded by the Polish National Science Centre (PRELUDIUM BIS, 2022/47/O/HS5/01229).

Preliminary results of Kamil Sobański’s PhD research have been published in leading journals, including the Journal of International Criminal Justice (Oxford University Press) and the European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice (Brill | Nijhoff).

More information on Kamil’s PhD project: https://digitaljustice.uwr.edu.pl/en/projects/virtual-justice-remote-proceedings-before-the-international-criminal-court-threat-or-opportunity-2023-2027/

Last month, on the 8th of April, we had the pleasure of hosting a full day of lectures on international law and EU law for high school students from Liceum Ogólnokształcące [high school] No. 5 in Wrocław — and what a day it was! 🎓

Our speakers brought current, thought-provoking topics straight to the classroom:

📚 Katarzyna Parchimowicz — EU Law: facts and myths
📚 Dominika Kuźnicka- Błaszkowska — Deepfakes in EU Law (research funded by Digital Democracy Centre (SDU) and TrygFonden)
📚 Agata Wnukiewicz-Kozłowska — Bioethical dimensions of EU Law
📚 Maciej Gajos — Public International Law: an overview through the lens of current events

It's always energising to bring law out of the lecture hall and into conversations with the next generation. Thank you to all our speakers and to the students for their engagement and curiosity!

We would like to remind you that on Monday we will host the next meeting of the Digital Justice Seminar Series!
Kaja Kowalczewska will deliver a presentation titled: “Who Gets to Build International Justice? Civil Society, Digital Evidence and the Participatory Turn” ⚖️ 🌐

🗓️ Date: 11 May 2026
🕑 Time: 11:30-13:00
📍Place: room 2D, Faculty of Law, Administration and Economics, University of Wroclaw + online via Teams: https://teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/launcher.html...
🗣️Language: English

Short decription: Mass atrocities are now documented in real time by people far beyond the formal justice system. Videos, testimonies, satellite images, social media posts and open-source investigations are reshaping how international crimes are reported, preserved and prosecuted. Yet the legal system often still treats civil society organizations as external actors rather than central partners. This presentation introduces the DIGDEM project under MSCA framework, which examines how digitalization and democratization are transforming international criminal justice, and asks how cooperation between civil society, domestic authorities and international institutions can become more ethical, effective and survivor-centered.

📢 We are pleased to invite you to the next meeting of the Digital Justice Seminar Series!

This time, Kaja Kowalczewska will deliver a presentation titled: “Who Gets to Build International Justice? Civil Society, Digital Evidence and the Participatory Turn” ⚖️ 🌐

🗓️ Date: 11 May 2026
🕑 Time: 11:30-13:00
📍Place: room 2D, Faculty of Law, Administration and Economics, University of Wroclaw + online via Teams: https://teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/launcher.html?url=%2F_%23%2Fmeet%2F346041796980774%3Fp%3D3UHVlqS3NrkOMglURf%26anon%3Dtrue&type=meet&deeplinkId=186d047c-9dc7-494a-8b33-6b2873deee6d&directDl=true&msLaunch=true&enableMobilePage=true&suppressPrompt=true
🗣️Language: English

About the topic: Mass atrocities are now documented in real time by people far beyond the formal justice system. Videos, testimonies, satellite images, social media posts and open-source investigations are reshaping how international crimes are reported, preserved and prosecuted. Yet the legal system often still treats civil society organisations as external actors rather than central partners. This presentation introduces the DIGDEM project under MSCA framework, which examines how digitalisation and democratisation are transforming international criminal justice, and asks how cooperation between civil society, domestic authorities and international institutions can become more ethical, effective and survivor-centred.

Kaja Kowalczewska is a Marie Skłodowska Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast and Principal Investigator of the DIGDEM project, which analyses the digitalization of international criminal justice and the participatory turn in accountability processes. She also leads the ‘From Voices To Verdicts’ project at the Digital Justice Center, University of Wrocław, examining the risks and benefits of user generated evidence, and coordinates KOOS, a coalition of Polish civil society organizations advocating for stronger domestic capacity to investigate and prosecute international crimes in Poland.

Her research sits at the intersection of international criminal law, international humanitarian law, and human rights, with a particular focus on how digital documentation, open sources, and platform mediated data shape evidentiary practice, coordination between civil society and prosecutors, and victim centred approaches in war crimes investigations. She holds PhD in Law from Jagiellonian University and has a background in applied legal and policy research with civil society and institutional partners.

We are happy to share that our Student Research Assistant, Aleksandra Maszyńska, has been part of the Arqus Student Ambassadors programme at the Uniwersytet Wrocławski since December 2025.

The Arqus European University Alliance brings together the universities of Granada, Graz, Leipzig, Lyon 1, Maynooth, Minho, Padua, Vilnius and Wrocław - nine broad‑profile research universities with strong regional roots in medium‑sized European cities.

As a Student Ambassador, Aleksandra regularly takes part in meetings where she collaborates with international students from European universities and works to promote Arqus values, support students, and break down barriers. Aleksandra is a member of the Student Services Group, where she contributes to initiatives supporting career development, promoting equity, strengthening student engagement and personal development, and fostering physical, mental, and emotional well‑being.

See more about the programme: https://uwr.edu.pl/en/arqus-ambassadors-at-the-university-of-wroclaw/

On March 30–31, 2026, Katarzyna Goclik, PhD Candidate at Digital Justice Center, had the pleasure of participating in the Fifth Annual Doctoral Seminar of The Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights 📖⚖️🇮🇹

Katarzyna presented a working paper in which she examined how Poland regulates the principle of universal jurisdiction and identified the legal and practical obstacles that limit its effectiveness in prosecuting core international crimes. Its main thesis argues that the current legal framework is insufficient and requires comprehensive reform to function effectively in practice.
The paper highlights the need for legislative changes, the introduction of in absentia proceedings, and the development of specialized institutional units and evidentiary standards, especially regarding digital evidence. It concludes that only through combined legal and institutional reforms can Poland meet its international obligations and ensure accountability for serious international crimes.

Thanks to the organizers for the excellent preparation of the event and to all participants for the inspiring exchange of ideas, constructive feedback, and truly fruitful discussions.

We are delighted to share that our Student Research Assistant, Aleksandra Maszyńska, has been selected as an outgoing student and will take part in the Erasmus+ exchange programme. In the upcoming academic semester, Aleksandra will study at the Faculty of Law at Sapienza University of Rome, one of Italy’s leading universities with a strong international reputation ⚖🇮🇹📚

Aleksandra is currently a fourth-year law student and a first-year student of Romance studies. In June 2025, she obtained her BA degree in Spanish Philology at University of Wrocław. Thanks to her linguistic background, she is fluent in Spanish and Italian, which will enable her to actively participate in courses conducted in Italian. Her research interests focus primarily on criminal law, constitutional law, and human rights, and these are the areas she intends to pursue during her studies in Rome.

Congratulations to Aleksandra! We are very happy about her opportunity to study abroad, develop her academic interests in an international environment, and gain valuable experience 🌐

On April 9–10 2026, our PhD candidates Katarzyna Goclik, Kalina Romanowska and Kamil Sobański took part in the XIV AIDP Symposium for Young Penalists in Utrecht, where they presented the results of their research.

Under the main theme “Criminal Law in the Age of Transitions. Between Sacred Cows and Core Values of Criminal Justice Systems”:
- Kalina Romanowska spoke in the panel “Digital investigations and evidence in criminal procedures” with her presentation “Decrypting Databases, Balancing Rights: Encrypted Digital Evidence in SkyECC Proceedings.” Kalina’s participation in the symposium was made possible thanks to funding from the Minigrant programme under the Excellence Initiative – Research University (IDUB) conducted at the University of Wroclaw.
- Katarzyna Goclik and Kamil Sobański contributed to the panel “International criminal law in the age of transitions.' Katarzyna presented “Transforming Universal Jurisdiction: How Digital and Biometric Evidence Shapes International Justice,” and Kamil presented “Is There a Conflict Between Efficiency and Fairness? Remote Testimony of a Witness and the Rights of the Accused at the International Criminal Court.” Kamil shared preliminary results of his PhD project funded by Centrum Nauki (2022/47/O/HS5/01229), see more: https://digitaljustice.uwr.edu.pl/en/projects/virtual-justice-remote-proceedings-before-the-international-criminal-court-threat-or-opportunity-2023-2027/.

The event was organized by the International Association of Penal Law (AIDP), the AIDP Young Penalists Committee (YPC) and YOUNGIS - Young Dutch Penalists Group. The Scientific Committee of the Symposium included Isabelle Gibson, Dawid Marko, Gaetano Ancona, Alice Giannini, Roos Klomberg and Domenico Rosani.

We congratulate the organizers on this enriching event and thank them for the invitation.

New paper out! Can a single synthetic video trigger real financial losses?

A research article by Dominika Kuźnicka‑Błaszkowska, published in the Capital Markets Law Journal (Oxford University Press), examines how deepfakes are creating systemic risks for financial markets.

Check out the paper in open access: https://academic.oup.com/cmlj/article/21/2/kmag008/8644171 #560281057

The study shows that synthetic media can manipulate markets by impersonating trusted actors or fabricating events—operating at a speed that outpaces verification, regulation, and institutional response. This challenges core assumptions underpinning market integrity and price formation. Current EU frameworks remain fragmented and reactive, leaving critical gaps in detection, attribution, and enforcement. The paper proposes concrete reforms to better align financial regulation with the realities of AI‑driven information environments. As digital technologies evolve, protecting financial stability increasingly depends on treating synthetic media as a structural risk—not an edge case.

This research is funded by the Narodowe Centrum Nauki within the project Beware Financial Stability (2023/51/D/HS5/00077), led by Katarzyna Parchimowicz. Read more about the project: https://digitaljustice.uwr.edu.pl/en/projects/beware-financial-stability-reverse-engineering-of-legal-threats-in-the-areas-of-technology-climate-and-anti-money-laundering-2024-2027.

DJC on tour ⏩ On March 20th 2026 Aleksandra Bodzioch, Wojciech Jasiński, Karolina Kremens and Kalina Romanowska had the opportunity to participate in the workshop "The Courtroom as a Linguistic Arena: Language, Law, and the Pursuit of Justice in Criminal Trials", hosted by the TRUE Project at Swansea University Singleton Campus 🎓

📢 We’re thrilled to spotlight Aleksandra’s participation and presentation at the workshop:
Aleksandra presented a working paper titled "“Do You Understand?" - Implementation of the Directive 2012/29/EU to the Victim's Letter of Rights in Poland", explaining how simple language should be implemented in legal communication with victims, giving examples of Polish Letter of Rights for victims and legal communication measures introduced in France.

🎤 About the Workshop:
Organized by the TRUE Project, this one‑day interdisciplinary event, brought together scholars from law, linguistics, psychology, criminology, and computer science to explore how language shapes courtroom dynamics - covering topics like legal meaning‑making, questioning strategies, emerging AI tools, and digital evidence handling. See more: https://www.trueproject.co.uk/linguistics-workshop-march.
A big thank you to Yvonne McDermott Rees and Kaja Kowalczewska and the entire organizing committee for creating such an inspiring space for meaningful exchange, thoughtful discussions, and valuable interdisciplinary dialogue.

🌐 About the TRUE project:
TRUE is a project selected for funding by the European Research Council and supported through a UKRI Frontier Research grant. The project investigates how deepfakes influence trust in user‑generated evidence within accountability processes for human rights violations. See more: https://www.trueproject.co.uk/.

🧳 Aleksandra’s participation in the workshop was made possible thanks to funding from the Minigrant programme under the Excellence Initiative – Research University (IDUB) conducted at the Uniwersytet Wrocławski.
📚 Her PhD is carried out within project titled: “Justice for Victims 2.0: Leveraging Modern Technology in R**e Cases" funded by Polish NCN National Science Centre (2024/55/B/HS5/02138). See more: https://digitaljustice.uwr.edu.pl/en/projects/justice-for-victims-2-0-leveraging-modern-technology-in-rape-cases/.