Several international jurisdictions for the prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide have been established since 1993. Of these, only the International Criminal Court (ICC) is permanent. It can investigate and prosecute only when national jurisdictions are unable or unwilling to do so genuinely. Strengthening such national ability is the primary purpose of the Case Matrix Network (CMN). The cost-efficiency and quality of justice for atrocities are improved by empowering the national professionals involved. It is also important to develop further the capacity of civil society organizations to document professionally serious human rights violations that may amount to core international crimes.

As described in the next section ('Services'), the Network's services fall in two distinct but closely related groups. The Network takes its name from the first of these groups, namely services linked to the Case Matrix and the Legal Tools Database, tools developed by the ICC. They transfer legal information and knowledge from the international criminal jurisdictions to the users. Case Matrix users can freely access some 8,000 pages of digest of more than 44,000 documents in international criminal law. The Matrix also organizes serious crimes case files and evidence.

But the Network is also an open platform for a second category of services, described in more detail in the 'Services' section. These services include technical advice on war crimes prosecution strategy, organization of work, development of investigation and work plans, their implementation, and drafting of requisite legislation. The range of services is expanding. The Network advises public criminal justice agencies, legal services and non-governmental organizations. It is active in many countries, civil law and common law, on five continents. 

The CMN services have been developed through meticulous study of work processes in numerous international and national criminal justice agencies, as well as non-governmental organizations. Based on open access technology, the services promote practical legal empowerment, especially in materially less resourceful countries.

This website seeks to provide basic information about the CMN to the public. It is also a co-ordination tool for the professionals who provide services through the Network as well as for the users of these services.

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