International Criminal Court investigation in Ukraine

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Not to be confused with Ukraine v. Russian Federation (2022).
Situation in Ukraine
The seal of the International Criminal Court
The seal of the International Criminal Court
File no.01/22
Referred byAlbania, Australia, Austria, and 36 other ICC member states
Date referred25 February 2022
Date opened3 March 2022 (2022-03-03)
Incident(s)Revolution of Dignity and Russo-Ukrainian War
Crimeswar crimes:
crimes against humanity:
Status of suspect

The International Criminal Court investigation in Ukraine or the Situation in Ukraine is an ongoing investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into war crimes and crimes against humanity that may have occurred since 21 November 2013, during the Revolution of Dignity and on an "open-ended basis" during the Russo-Ukrainian War, including the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia, the war in Donbas and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[1] The full investigation obtained jurisdiction on 2 March 2022.[2][3]

Preliminary examination[edit]

As of February 2022, Ukraine is not party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).[1] In 2014 and 2015, the government of Ukraine made two formal requests for the ICC to investigate any Russian war crimes and crimes against humanity that may have occurred in Ukraine in the 2014 Euromaidan protests and civil unrest, the 2014 annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, and the war in Donbas. The first declaration was for the dates from 21 November 2013 to 22 February 2014, covering the whole territory of Ukraine. The second declaration requested an extended investigation from 20 February with an open end date, again for the whole of Ukrainian territory.[1]

On 25 April 2014, the ICC started its preliminary examination of evidence of claims of war crimes. On 11 December 2020, the ICC Prosecutor found that "there was a reasonable basis to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed", that the "alleged crimes identified would [as of December 2020] be admissible", and that there was "a reasonable basis for investigation, subject to judicial authorisation".[4][5]

Referrals, jurisdiction and authorisation[edit]

On 25 February 2022, the day after the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, ICC Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan stated that the ICC could "exercise its jurisdiction and investigate any act of genocide, crime against humanity or war crime committed within Ukraine."[6] Khan stated on 28 February that he intended to launch a full ICC investigation and that he had requested his team to "explore all evidence preservation opportunities". He stated that it would be faster to officially open the investigation if an ICC member state referred the case for investigation,[7] under Article 13(a) of the Rome Statute, rather than under proprio motu of Article 13(c), which would also establish jurisdiction, but would be slower.[7]

Lithuanian prime minister Ingrida Simonyte stated on 28 February that Lithuania had requested that the ICC investigation be opened.[7] On 2 March 2022, Khan stated that he had received referrals from 39 states, enabling Khan to open an investigation under Article 14 of the Rome Statute. Khan stated that the Prosecutor's Office had already "identified potential cases that would be admissible".[2][3] On 11 March, Japan and North Macedonia joined the referrals, bringing the total number of referring states to 41.[8] On 1 or 2 March 2022, the Situation in Ukraine was assigned to Pre-Trial Chamber II of the ICC, with judges Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua, Tomoko Akane and Rosario Salvatore Aitala, who are required to decide whether to authorise the investigation after they receive a request for authorisation from the Prosecutor, Khan.[9]

Investigation[edit]

Prosecutor Khan stated on 3 March 2022 that an initial team consisting of "investigators, lawyers, and people with particular experience in operational planning" was sent to the "Ukraine region" to begin collecting evidence.[10] On 11 March he announced that his office had created a dedicated portal through which any person holding information relevant to the Ukraine situation can contact the ICC investigators[11].

Issues with enforcement[edit]

The ICC relies on member countries to assist with investigation and enforcement, however many countries are not members of the ICC, including India, China and the United States.[12] Russia withdrew from the ICC in 2016, after the ICC ruled that Russia's invasion of Crimea amounted to an "ongoing occupation".[13] Therefore Russia has no legal obligation to cooperate with the ICC and would be unlikely to hand over suspects for trial or prosecution, particularly President Vladimir Putin.[14][15]

Analysis[edit]

Since Russia is not a member of the ICC, enforcing arrest warrants against suspects located on Russian territory is expected to be difficult.[14][15]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Karim Ahmad, Khan (2022-02-28). "Statement of ICC Prosecutor, Karim A.A. Khan QC, on the Situation in Ukraine: 'I have decided to proceed with opening an investigation.'". ICC. Archived from the original on 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  2. ^ a b "Ukraine invasion: International Criminal Court investigates alleged Russian war crimes". South China Morning Post. 2022-03-03. Archived from the original on 2022-03-04. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  3. ^ a b Khan, Karim Ahmad (2022-03-02). "Statement of ICC Prosecutor, Karim A.A. Khan QC, on the Situation in Ukraine: Receipt of Referrals from 39 States Parties and the Opening of an Investigation". ICC. Archived from the original on 2022-03-04. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  4. ^ "Preliminary examination – Ukraine". International Criminal Court. 2020. Archived from the original on 2022-02-24. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  5. ^ "Russia, Ukraine & International Law: On Occupation, Armed Conflict and Human Rights". Human Rights Watch. 2022-02-23. Archived from the original on 2022-02-24. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  6. ^ "ICC says may investigate possible war crimes after Russian invasion of Ukraine". Thomson Reuters. 2022-02-25. Archived from the original on 2022-02-25. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  7. ^ a b c Borger, Julian (2022-02-28). "ICC prosecutor to investigate possible war crimes in Ukraine". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2022-02-28. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
  8. ^ "Statement of ICC Prosecutor, Karim A.A. Khan QC, on the Situation in Ukraine: Additional Referrals from Japan and North Macedonia; Contact portal launched for provision of information". icc-cpi.int. International Criminal Court. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  9. ^ "ICC Presidency assigns the Situation in Ukraine to Pre-Trial Chamber II". International Criminal Court. 2022-03-02. Archived from the original on 2022-03-06. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  10. ^ "ICC prosecutor: Team leaves to investigate war crimes in Ukraine". Thomson Reuters. 2022-03-03. Archived from the original on 2022-03-04. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  11. ^ "Statement of ICC Prosecutor, Karim A.A. Khan QC, on the Situation in Ukraine: Additional Referrals from Japan and North Macedonia; Contact portal launched for provision of information". International Criminal Court. 2022-03-11. Retrieved 2022-03-22.The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) Contact Pathway can be reached here.
  12. ^ Felter, Claire (23 February 2021). "The Role of the International Criminal Court". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Russia withdraws from International Criminal Court treaty". BBC. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  14. ^ a b Shelton, Tracey (10 March 2022). "What constitues a war crime and who could try Russia for alleged crimes committed during its invasion of Ukraine?". Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  15. ^ a b Brissenden, Michael (4 March 2022). "Putin has been accused of committing war crimes. But could the International Criminal Court bring him to justice?". ABC News. Retrieved 16 March 2022.

External links[edit]

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