War crimes committed during the armed conflict in Ukraine: What should the ICC focus on?

Abstract

Despite the claims that the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine has become a "frozen zone", the reality demonstrates such a characterization runs afoul of the facts: hostilities continue on, with the increasing number of cases of massive human rights violations following the use of force by the Russian Federation in Crimea and its participation in the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. According to multiple reports, those violations in many cases amount to war crimes. It is thus necessary to ensure a proper compliance with legal rules applicable in the course of armed conflict, i.e., rules of international humanitarian law. Making sure the perpetrators of such crimes are brought under proper responsibility in accordance with relevant international criminal law standards is of equal importance. The matter of analysing and properly qualifying the human rights violations as crimes under the jurisdiction of the ICC will be a central substantive task of the Prosecution team and the Court if the situation makes it to the case. This Chapter dealswith the qualification ofwar crimes as pertains to the armed conflict in Ukraine. Its main aim is to consider the relevant IHL norms and apply them to the alleged acts. This is instrumental in a proper determination of what criteria could be helpful for the ICC in ensuring the criminal responsibility of those who committed - and continue to commit, the horrible acts on both sides of the conflict. Eventually, the Chapter will argue that adjudicating war crimes committed in Ukraine by all parties at the ICC level represents an imperative task if the claimed purpose of international criminal law to bring the perpetrators of international crimes to justice is viable at all.