The composition of the crime provided for in Art. 438 of the Criminal Code is formulated by the legislator by listing the forms of its commission. However, there is no doubt that this composition of the crime is a blanket norm. The difficulty of applying this article is due to the fact that the domestic law enforcer should refer to the provisions of international treaties ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. In addition, it is necessary to clearly understand the scope of those international treaties that relate to the regulation of the specified issue.

The most debatable and requiring scientific analysis is the analysis of “other violations of the laws and customs of war” as one of the forms of the crime provided for in Art. 438 of the Criminal Code.

 This article clearly identifies the range of international treaties that should be used by courts in the course of criminal legal assessment of the actions of those guilty under Art. 438 of the Criminal Code, attention was drawn to the concept of “serious violations of the laws and customs of war” and their legal meaning.

The article also argues for the possibility of Ukrainian courts to use the provisions of the Geneva Conventions, and precisely through their prism to refer to the provisions of the Rome Statute of the ICC and the practice of international military tribunals. After all, the Rome Statute of the ICC is the result of the development of international humanitarian law and the codification of international crimes, and this indicates the existence of a broad international consensus regarding the understanding of the concept, list and signs of war crimes (as well as other international crimes).

Authored books

1. Chuter D, War Crimes: Confronting Atrocity in the Modern World (2003) (in English).

2. Dörmann K, Elements of War Crimes Under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Sources and Commentary (Cambridge University Press 2008) (in English).

3. Werle G, Principles of International Criminal Law (2nd edition, T.M.C. Asser Press 2009) (in English).

 Journal articles

 4. Dörmann K, ‘War Crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, with a Special Focus on the Negotiations on the Elements of Crimes’ (2003) 7 Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law 341–407 (in English).

5. Pylypenko V, ‘Sklad voiennoho zlochynu za mizhnarodnym kryminalnym pravom’ (2017) 79 Aktualni problemy derzhavy i prava 110–6 (in Ukrainian).

6. Pylypenko V, ‘Voienni zlochyny yak seriozni porushennia Zhenevskykh konventsii 1949 roku v konteksti mizhnarodnoho kryminalnoho prava’ (2018) 6 Naukovi zapysky Instytutu zakonodavstva Verkhovnoi Rady Ukrainy 81–93 (in Ukrainian).

7. Repetskyi V, Lysyk V, ‘Poniattia ta oznaky voiennykh zlochyniv’ (2009) 1 Almanakh mizhnarodnoho prava 120–5 (in Ukrainian).

8. Yemelianenko V, Orobets K, ‘Voienni zlochyny: poniattia, osoblyvosti ta spivvidnoshennia z viiskovymy kryminalnymy pravoporushenniamy za Kryminalnym kodeksom Ukrainy’ [2022] 11 Naukovi innovatsii ta peredovi tekhnolohii (Seriia “Derzhavne upravlinnia”, Seriia “Pravo”, Seriia “Ekonomika”, Seriia “Psykholohiia”, Seriia “Pedahohika”) 123–36 (in Ukrainian).

9. Zubanskyi M, ‘Poniattia ta sklad voiennoho zlochynu v konteksti polozhen mizhnarodnoho kryminalnoho prava’ (2022) 58 Aktualni problemy vdoskonalennia chynnoho zakonodavstva Ukrainy 47–56 (in Ukrainian).

Theses

10. Kolotukha I, ‘Kryminalna vidpovidalnist fizychnykh osib za porushennia norm mizhnarodnoho humanitarnoho prava’ (avtoref dys kand yuryd nauk, 2010) 19 (in Ukrainian).

Websites

11. Anisimov H, ‘Pid chas kvalifikatsii dii osoby yak porushennia zakoniv ta zvychaiv viiny vazhlyvym ye vstanovlennia kontekstualnoho aspektu’ (Verkhovnyi Sud, 04.07.2022) <https://supreme.court.gov.ua/supreme/pres-centr/news/1291154> (accessed: 26.02.2023) (in Ukrainian).

12. Hnatovskyi M, Korotkyi T, ‘Vyznachennia voiennykh zlochyniv u mizhnarodnomu kryminalnomu pravi’ (Iurydychna hazeta Online, 18.04.2022) <https://yur-gazeta.com/ publications/practice/kriminalne-pravo-ta-proces/viznachennya-voennih-zlochiniv-umizhnarodnomukriminalnomu-pravi.html> (accessed: 26.02.2023) (in Ukrainian).