Truth or a blatant accusation of Crimes against Humanity on Ukrainians: The Jurisdictional constraints affecting international prosecutions with accountability challenges despite strong evidentiary fo

Paper Code: AIJACLAV05RP2026

Category: Research Paper

Date of Publication: Sep 10, 2026

Author Details

Mr. Bipro Pratim Das, Research Scholar, The W.B National University of Juridical Sciences Kolkata, India

Truth or a blatant accusation of Crimes against Humanity on Ukrainians: The Jurisdictional constraints affecting international prosecutions with accountability challenges despite strong evidentiary foundation

Abstract

This Art examines whether the conduct of Russian forces and occupation authorities in Ukraine amounts to crimes against humanity (CAH) under Art. 7 ICC Statute. Drawing upon the reports of the UN investigative bodies, Human Rights Watch and the documented case studies of Ukrainian civilians, the study analyses the patterns of violence beyond isolated violations of international criminal law (ICL). It argues that the scale, repetition and coordination of acts such as enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence, deportation, persecution and inhumane treatment plausibly meet the legal threshold of a widespread or systematic attack carried out with the knowledge of that attack. This Art has situated CAH within ICL emphasizing that unlike war crimes, such offences do not require a nexus to armed conflict. Through an examination of occupation practices in the regions such as Kherson, Crimea, Donbas and Kyiv, the Art demonstrates how individual incidents like enforced disappearance of activists, journalists and humanitarian volunteers form a part of a broader policy of repression aimed at suppressing Ukrainian civic identity and resistance. The Art aims at finding answers to three research objectives, at first, it analyses the extent to which the pattern of conduct by Russian forces and occupation authorities in Ukraine satisfy the contextual and material elements of CAH; secondly, to find out how does such atrocities function as interconnected components of a widespread and systematic attack against the Ukrainian civilian population; lastly, to understand the legal implications and accountability-challenges arising from jurisdictional, political and evidentiary constraints in prosecuting CAH committed in the context of Ukraine conflict with the case laws. The scope of this Art is limited to CAH and does not engage in a full legal qualification of genocide or war crimes except where contextually relevant. It relies on publicly available documentation and does not assess individual criminal responsibility beyond doctrinal analysis. Jurisdictional constraints affecting international prosecutions are acknowledged underscoring the challenges of accountability despite a strong evidentiary foundation.

Keywords: Crimes against Humanity, Russia-Ukraine, International Criminal Law, Jurisdiction, Accountability, Armed Conflict.