Browse by topic

This section is organised into five main categories: war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, the crime of aggression, and legal framework issues.

By clicking on a category of your choice, you’ll find a more detailed breakdown of the specific crimes and underlying acts they encompass. Each section includes definitions, the relevant legal framework, references to key jurisprudence, and practical tools such as legal manuals, training materials and commentaries.

Alternatively, you can browse by the most commonly asked questions:

⚖️ Legal Sources and Applicable Law

• What is international law, and why does it matter for Ukrainian legal practitioners, including judges?

• What is international treaty law?

• What about customary international law?

• What is the relationship between ICL and IHL? What about International Human Rights Law (IHRL)?

• Can Ukrainian courts refer to the Rome Statute, ICC jurisprudence, and other international tribunals' statutes or jurisprudence in international crimes proceedings?

• What type of armed conflict is taking place in Ukraine, and why does it matter?

• Does Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine cover all violations of international humanitarian law?

• Is it mandatory to specify the exact provisions of international humanitarian law in war crimes judgments in Ukraine?

🧩 War crimes

• What constitutes a war crime under international law?
• What are the contextual elements that distinguish war crimes from ordinary crimes under Ukrainian law?
• What are protected groups and objects under IHL? What does it mean?

• How thoroughly should courts establish the existence of an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation? What constitutes appropriate evidence?

• How should courts approach the question of the nexus between the alleged act and the armed conflict?

• What constitutes effective control for the purposes of classifying an area as occupied territory?

• Under what conditions does a person acquire the status of a combatant? Is a civilian taking up arms considered a combatant? 

• What are the criteria for distinguishing between civilian objects and military objectives? When can civilian facilities/objects be lawfully attacked under international humanitarian law?

• Is incidental/collateral harm to civilians and civilian objects permissible during attacks on military targets? What are the criteria for assessing the legality of such harm?

• What kinds of evidence can support or undermine the claim that an object was a lawful military target?

• How should courts evaluate claims of indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks?

📱 Evidence and Procedure

• Are open-source (OSINT) materials admissible as evidence? Are there international standards for their evaluation?

• How should digital evidence be authenticated and assessed in international crimes trials?

• What are the key procedural safeguards to ensure a fair trial in complex war crimes proceedings?

🏛️ Crimes Against Humanity

▸ Differences between crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes

• What are the elements of crimes against humanity? 
• What qualifies an act as 'part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population? 
• What is the difference between a crime against humanity of persecution and the crime of genocide?

▸ Deportation or forcible transfer as a crime against humanity

• How can Ukrainian courts distinguish deportation as a war crime from deportation as a crime against humanity?

• What constitutes coercion in cases where civilians “agreed” to leave under threat or deception?