Criminal responsibility for war crimes in the context of armed aggression against Ukraine

Abstract

Introduction. Armed conflicts are one of the important problems of our time. They lead to social tension because the rights of not only military personnel, but also the civilian population are violated. At the international level, more and more attention is paid to such issues as war crimes during armed aggression. For Ukraine, the issue of criminal responsibility at the state and international level is relevant. The purpose of the paper is to analyze issues related to criminal responsibility for committing crimes during armed aggression in Ukraine. Results. War crimes during the armed aggression of Russia against Ukraine have been ongoing since 2014. However, with the beginning of a full-scale invasion, they acquired a systematic character. In international humanitarian law, a gross intentional violation of the laws and customs of war is considered a war crime. War crimes are one of the main crimes of international law. The four Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949 and Additional Protocol I to them of June 8, 1977 oblige states to criminalize serious violations of international humanitarian law in their national legislation. Ukraine fulfills this requirement primarily by adding Article 438 "Violation of laws and customs of war" to the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The definition of criminal responsibility for committing war crimes is also contained in such an international act as the Rome Statute. The widest list of war crimes is enshrined in the Statute of the International Criminal Court, the so-called Rome Statute. The more discovered facts of war crimes in Ukraine appear in the public space, the more the term "genocide" sounds from various international bodies and public figures. The Verkhovna Rada also demanded that war crimes of the Russian Federation should be recognized as genocide against the Ukrainian people. Conclusions. For Ukraine, the problem of criminal responsibility for war crimes is and will be relevant. In the conditions of martial law, it is important that each such crime is discovered and investigated separately. After all, those who commit crimes against humanity should know that they cannot escape criminal responsibility. The specified features of war crimes will allow to distinguish them from other crimes in the future, and will allow to better specify and implement international criminal responsibility for their commission.