Invasion of ukraine: interrogating the criminal liability of russia under international law
Abstract:Abstract
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia on 24 February 2022 has been widely
condemned by world leaders as an act of aggression by one State against a fellow
sovereign State. The condemnation has been premised mainly on the obligations
imposed by Article 2, paragraphs 3 and 4, of the United Nations Charter on
Members of the Organisation to pursue peaceful means in settling international
disputes and refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity
or political independence of any State. This article examines the criminal liability of
Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. It adopts the library based doctrinal analysis
and relies on primary sources like the United Nations (UN) Charter, Rome Statute
of International Criminal Court (ICC), and the Geneva Conventions on rules of
engagement during armed conflict. It also makes use of secondary sources such as
internet materials and periodicals. The study finds that although Russia can be held
liable for the commission of crimes of international concern such as genocide, war
crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression, as contained in
article 5 of the ICC Statute, yet the country cannot be prosecuted by the Court
because it is not a signatory to the Statute. It further finds that even though the
United Nations can sanction Russia for its apparent act of aggression against
Ukraine, such a possibility is quite remote due to Russia’s prime status as one of the
veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council, the only principal organ
of the Organisation that can order an enforcement action under Chapter VII of the
Charter. In order to remedy the anomaly in the international criminal justice system
thrown up by the conflict in Ukraine, the paper suggests a compressive reform of
the UN system to, inter alia, make it mandatory for all Members of the Organisation
to submit to the jurisdiction of ICC while considering matters affecting their
obligations as contained under Articles 1 and 2 of the UN Charter.
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