An alleged "genocide of russian-speaking persons" in Eastern Ukraine: Some observations on the "hybrid" application of international criminal law by the investigative committee of the russian federation

Abstract

In 2014, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation instituted a criminal prosecution of a number of Ukrainian nationals of charges of genocide of "a national group of Russian-speaking persons" in eastern Ukraine. It appears that here, in addition to instituting prosecutions in the absence of jurisdiction with respect to such alleged acts committed on the territory of Ukraine, Russia also abused the notion of genocide in that it included within the range of groups protected by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and by its own Criminal Code, a group that is not covered by the definition of genocide. It is submitted that both factors void the entire prosecution exercise, and make it a manifestation of "hybrid law enforcement".