Interview

Ukrainian soldiers, prisoners-of-war are lined up before being forced by pro-Russian rebels to search through the wreckage of the destroyed Donetsk airport for weaponry and dead bodies on February 26, 2015 in Donetsk, Ukraine. © Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Ukraine: Justice for POWs

As evidence grows of the cruel treatment and extrajudicial execution of Ukrainian captives, legal and human rights bodies are building strategies for prosecution.

4 Oct 22

Rescue workers and forensic police exhume bodies from unidentified makeshift graves at the Pishanske cemetery on September 21, 2022 in Izium, Ukraine. © Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

Investigating Izyum’s Mass Graves

Large teams of forensic experts work together with law enforcement officers and criminologists to collect evidence for future trials.

27 Sep 22

Rescue workers and forensic police exhume bodies from unidentified makeshift graves at the Pishanske cemetery on September 19, 2022 in Izium, Ukraine. The bodies will be examined by forensic officials for possible war crimes. Izium was recently liberated from Russian occupation after six months. Approximately 440 bodies are buried at the cemetery, so far 161 bodies have been exhumed, taken to the morgue in Kharkiv. © Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

Universal Criminal Jurisdiction in Ukraine

Country’s legal community is putting public pressure on the prosecutor general, the president’s office and the government to incorporate principles.

20 Sep 22

In this still taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on May 20, 2022, a Russian serviceman frisks a Ukrainian soldier leaving the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. © Russian Defense Ministry

Russia Plans Show Trials for Ukrainian POWs

Processes deemed illegal as combatant immunity bars prosecution for mere participation in hostilities.

13 Sep 22

Members of the Ukrainian military walk amid debris after a shopping centre and surrounding buildings were hit by a Russian missile strike on April 16, 2022 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. © Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Ukraine’s Plan to Prosecute Collaborators

New legislation remains open to interpretation by law enforcement agencies and judges.

6 Sep 22

Soldiers march on the first anniversary of the signing of the decree on the annexation of the Crimea by the Russian Federation, on March 18, 2015 in Sevastopol, Crimea. © Alexander Aksakov/Getty Images

The Complexity of Prosecuting Forced Conscription

Conflicting laws make pursuing such cases more difficult – while criminalising some former fighters may only serve Russian interests.

30 Aug 22

Building of the Supreme Court of Ukraine. © Wadco2/Wikimedia

Ukraine: Why Justice Reform is More Vital Than Ever

An independent judiciary is essential to guarantee democracy and demonstrate that, despite the war, the country is continuing to implement change.

23 Aug 22

An abandoned house destroyed by Russian missiles in Bakhmut, Ukraine.

Ukraine: Deportation is a War Crime

With some 1.5 million Ukrainians already expelled to Russia, legal experts weigh options for prosecution.

16 Aug 22

A woman displaced by war wipes tears during a counselling session as psychologists listen on May 03, 2022 in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. © John Moore/Getty Images

Ukraine: Rape as a Weapon of War

Legal expert warns that sexual violence is being used as a “tool of psychological terror, intimidation and torture”.

9 Aug 22

Captured Russian soldier, Sgt. Vadim Shishimarin, 21, attends a court hearing on May 18, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Sgt. Shishimarin pleaded guilty to shooting a civilian on a bicycle in the village of Chupakhivka, Sumy Region, days after Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. The trial of the Russian soldier was the first that Ukraine has conducted since the invasion related to charges that could be considered war crimes. © Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Ukraine: Ensuring Fair Trial for War Captives

Steep learning curve for Ukrainian justice system now tasked with prosecuting complex crimes under international humanitarian law.

2 Aug 22

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