Trials of Russian soldiers for war crimes in Ukraine could affect the supply of Western weapons.
Because of the widespread euphoria about the successful defense of Ukraine Against Russia's aggressive war, it is easy to forget that a few months ago Ukraine was still considered a troubled state in terms of the rule of law, writes Kai Ambos, head of the Department of Criminal Law at Georg August University in Göttingen for the European Journal of International Law. .
Kai believes that it is unreasonable to expect that the problems of the rule of law and the judiciary will disappear almost immediately after the Russian invasion on February 24. Kai openly mocks the Ukrainian judiciary, criticizing the measure for “praising the war crimes trial against a Russian tanker”, questioning the impartiality of Ukraine's investigations into major international crimes.
driver of a Russian tank. Shishimarin's life sentence for deliberate killing of civilians raises several questions and concerns for Kaya. The professor appeals that “although the trial was public, there is currently no access to the verdict. For example, it is unclear how Shishimarin's confession was made?”.
Kai asks, “Was the killing of a civilian aimed at concealing the car theft by the criminal and his comrades? Were there fears that the victim would reveal the whereabouts of Russian soldiers, making them an easy target for the Ukrainian military? In the latter case; 33 (1) (c) of the Statute of the International Criminal Court) and thus the denial of its effect as a remedy would not be so obvious. ” Kai concludes that “There may still be a possibility that the serviceman made a corresponding mistake regarding the legality of the order at the time, exempting him from criminal liability.”
Göttingen in Germany, Kaya Ambosa, Shishimarin's life sentence is “especially striking”, and his life sentence is “an incomparable measure of punishment”, and here are the reasons Kai called:
“First, the defendant has killed only one civilian, and there are no aggravating circumstances. temporary base of 10-15 years in prison.
In addition, Kai believes that Shishimarin is a young 21-year-old first-time convict who grew up in socially difficult conditions in Siberia, allegedly volunteered, cooperated through his confession, acted on orders, and showed remorse. Even if the court questioned the sincerity of remorse, all these circumstances are mitigating circumstances under Article 66 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which, in turn, aggravate the liability under Article 67 of the Criminal Code, writes Kai.
Further Kai violates the question of whether the Ukrainian authorities will investigate possible Ukrainian war crimes and expresses doubts about this, reproaching the Office of the Prosecutor General that “only possible Russian crimes” are being investigated.
Continuing, Kai criticizes the Joint Investigation Group (JAG) set up by Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania, saying that its leading member is not an EU member state, which raises questions. Kai also points out that Germany, France and the Netherlands did not join the SSG, which points to “possible bias of the existing SSG” and accuses it of “Ukrainocentrism”. And for these reasons, the Prosecutor's Office of the International Criminal Court (ICC) did not join the SSS as a “member” but only as a “participant”.
The following is a passage about the fact that Ukraine has not yet adopted the Statute of the International Criminal Court and how it “does not inspire confidence in Western partners.”
But it is worth recalling that the ISS already has jurisdiction over the statements of Ukraine in accordance with Art. 12 (3) of the ICC Statute in respect of all statutory crimes committed on the territory of Ukraine. Also on May 20, the Law on Cooperation between Ukraine and the ICC entered into force, amending the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, introducing a new Chapter IX (Peculiarities of Cooperation with the International Criminal Court). Kai calls such actions of the Ukrainian government “a narrowing of the obligations of national cooperation with the ICC cooperation regime.” Professor Kai concludes that if it turns out that Ukrainian investigations focus exclusively on possible Russian actions and criminals, there will be huge problems of trust not only in Ukraine but also in the West. According to him, if Ukrainian combatants do commit war crimes or other international crimes using Western weapons, this cannot be ignored by the West. And the West will actually have to rethink its military support to avoid accountability under international law for aiding and abetting these crimes.
Earlier, an international tribunal for Putin and his aides: how to punish them . Current issues regarding the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine
