THE PROBLEMS OF INVESTIGATION OF WAR CRIMES ON THE TERRITORY OF UKRAINE AND PROSECUTION OF PERSONS FOR THEIR COMMISSION

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problems faced by law enforcement agencies during the investigation of war crimes of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine and the problems of bringing to justice the persons guilty of their commission. War crimes are described according to Ukrainian and international legislation. The statistics of the commission of war crimes on the territory of Ukraine during six months of full-scale war on the territory of Kyiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk and Luhansk regions were studied. The Ukrainian legislation regarding the responsibility for the commission of a war crime is analyzed. It was established that the main problem that hinders the effective investigation of war crimes by the troops of the Russian Federation is active combat operations in the places where the crimes were committed. The need to train specialists with the help of which the investigation will proceed faster and more efficiently is emphasized. The legal nature of the International Criminal Court, the history of its establishment and the category of cases that the court considers are defined and clarified. Attention is focused on the need to make changes to the current criminal legislation for further ratification of the Rome Statute. It was found that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a draft law, which provides for the introduction of changes in the criminal legislation, but as of the end of 2022, the draft law has not been signed by the President of Ukraine, and therefore the law has not entered into force. The possibility of bringing officials of the Russian Federation to criminal responsibility with the help of the International Criminal Court or another international body that has the necessary powers has been investigated. The opinions of experts, lawyers of criminal law regarding the possibility of consideration of crimes of the Russian Federation by the International Criminal Court were analyzed. An analysis was also made of the first decisions of Ukrainian courts regarding the sentencing of Russian military personnel who committed war crimes after the full-scale invasion in 2022. Having singled out certain problems faced by law enforcement agencies and courts during the investigation of war crimes, a conclusion was made regarding the possible improvement of the investigation process.