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1 1 (October 21, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govejev0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional_______ ~.Research Service The Role of International Tribunals in the Response to the Invasion of Ukraine Updated October 21, 2022 The Ukrainian government and much of the international community contend that actions taken by Russian forces following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine violate international law. At the outset of the invasion, a number of officials expressed concern that actions during the invasion amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity; others, including the Secretary General of the United Nations (U.N.) and the U.S. Secretary of State claimed that the situation in Ukraine led to human rights violations. Since the initial invasion, Ukrainian officials and third party observers have reported evidence of alleged atrocity crimes perpetrated by Russian personnel on a regular basis. This Sidebar addresses the role of international tribunals in addressing issues involving international humanitarian and human rights law. Individual and Russian Accountability for Actions in Ukraine Several international tribunals may play a role in addressing Russia's actions in Ukraine, chiefly the International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Criminal Court (ICC), and European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). This section provides an overview of current and prior disputes involving Ukrainian allegations against Russia or individuals connected to Russian actions in Ukraine. International Court of Justice On February 27, 2022, Ukraine filed an application with the ICJ to initiate proceedings against Russia under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention). Article II of that Convention defines genocide as certain wrongful acts-such as killing, causing serious bodily harm, or deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to bring about physical destruction-when committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. In its ICJ filing, Ukraine contends that Russia premised its invasion on fabricated claims of Ukrainian genocide against Russians or Russian-speakers in Ukraine, which Ukraine emphatically denies. Ukraine argues that Russia has turned the Genocide Convention on its head-making a false claim of genocide as a basis to justify its own grave and widespread human rights violations. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10704 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress