Do Crimes Committed By Russian Soldiers In Ukraine Constitute War Crimes, Or Could They Also Qualify As Crimes Against Humanity?

The article aims to determine the nature of international humanitarian law violations committed in Ukraine following the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion against Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Specifically, it seeks to establish whether these violations constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, or both. Since there were no judgments from international courts at the time of this study, it primarily draws on reports submitted to the Human Rights Council by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, as well as the report from the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). These reports are a reliable source of information as they were not written to prove any predetermined thesis. Furthermore, the report prepared for the ICC provided the grounds for the ICC Prosecutor to initiate preparatory proceedings.

The study is limited to violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law committed by the armed forces of the Russian Federation after 24 February 2022. Violations by the armed forces of Ukraine are beyond the scope of this study.

The article begins with a brief overview of the findings made by the Office of the ICC Prosecutor and by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry. This is followed by a description of what constitutes crimes against humanity and war crimes, along with an attempt at subsumption. The provisions of the Statute of the International Criminal Court of 17 July 1998 (hereinafter - Rome Statute) constitute the starting point for the considerations. Ukraine as a state which is not party to the Rome Statute, has accepted the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court - in accordance with Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute. The acceptance of jurisdiction is partial; however, there is no doubt that Ukraine has recognized the ICC’s jurisdiction over war crimes and crimes against humanity committed after 24 February 2022. The article finishes with an attempt to determine whether the violations meet the criteria to be classified as both types of international crimes.

Read more