The prosecution of international crimes in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine: the symbiosis between national jurisdictions and the International Criminal Court

Abstract

This paper addresses the legal analysis of individual criminal liability arising from the commission of international crimes –war crimes, crimes against humanity, crime of genocide and crime of aggression– in the framework of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which was launched on 24 February 2022, from the perspective of International Criminal Law. After analysing the legal qualification of the various actions that may constitute international crimes, the research will focus its object of study on the possibilities for prosecution provided by both the competent national jurisdictions and the International Criminal Court, as well as on the symbiotic relationship between these two mechanisms, based on the principle of complementarity. In this way, it will be possible to elucidate the degree of legal suitability of each of the mechanisms in relation to the Russian-Ukrainian scenario, as well as to point out their potential efectiveness in the present and future in the fight against impunity.