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20 US-China L. Rev. 31 (2023)
Russia's Aggression against Ukraine and the Pursuit of Individual Criminal Responsibility

handle is hein.journals/uschinalrw20 and id is 35 raw text is: US-China Law Review, January 2023, Vol. 20, No. 1, 31-44 doi: 10.17265/1548-6605/2023.01.004 ULISHING Russia's Aggression Against Ukraine and the Pursuit of Individual Criminal Responsibility Yasuhiro Ueki Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan The Russian military invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, which was clearly ordered by President Putin, meets the definition of a crime of aggression. The International Criminal Court has opened investigations into war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. And yet, it is unable to indict and prosecute President Putin for the crime of aggression, as Russia is not a State Party to the Rome Statute. How can the sitting Head of State be held responsible for the unwarranted and unjustified aggression? This paper looks into the past cases of indicting and trying political and military leaders, including the sitting Heads of State, for crimes of aggression and other crimes to see what can be done to pursue the individual criminal responsibility of President Putin. Keywords: aggression, accountability, Putin, Russia, Ukraine Introduction The Russian military invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, was an act that undermined the very foundation of the international order built around the UN Charter. Through this act of aggression, Russia violated the basic principles of respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence of neighboring Ukraine. The resort to the use of force without the justifications allowed under the UN Charter not only undermined the legitimacy of the Security Council as the defender of the post-WWII order but also its own legitimacy as a permanent member. Russia's action has serious legal and political implications, with broad international consequences, especially for the United Nations as a universal Organization. There are already calls for prosecuting individual Russians who have committed acts considered war crimes, as well as an outcry by the international community to hold President Putin personally responsible for this act of aggression against Ukraine. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has already begun investigations in Ukraine into three types of crimes under its jurisdiction on the basis of referrals received from 41 States Parties to the Rome Statute.1 And yet, it is not certain if the ICC could successfully prosecute those chiefly responsible for the Russian aggression, primarily President Putin. The work of the ICC is hampered by the fact that it cannot prosecute the crime of aggression unless the country concerned has accepted the Rome Statute and Russia is not a signatory. Yasuhiro Ueki, Ph.D., professor, Graduate School of Global Studies, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan. Ihttps://www.icc-cpi.int/news/statement-icc-prosecutor-karim-aa-khan-qc-situation-ukraine-receipt-referrals-39-states. Two more States Parties later joined, making the total referrals to 41.

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