ICL and IHL Reform in Ukraine

With the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine in 2014, it became evident that Ukraine’s international humanitarian law (IHL) framework required significant reform. At that time, the relevant actors lacked the capacity to manage the many challenges of armed conflict and ensure accountability for international crimes committed.

Global Rights Compliance (GRC) has been active in Ukraine since 2015. Since its arrival, GRC has been among the most active IHL experts, working with a range of governmental and non-governmental actors. GRC has provided advice on the classification of the armed conflict, the application of IHL, and the investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of international crimes reportedly committed by Russian authorities, such as forcible transfer, forced conscription, appropriation of property, indiscriminate attacks on civilian objects, and persecution. GRC has provided direct support to senior officials across government ministries and continues to assist civil society organisations in seeking remedies for violations of international law.

Our Services and Activities

Legal Reform and Policy Development. Member of Ukraine’s Interdepartmental IHL Commission and International Council of Experts on Conflict-Related Crimes. Co-authored Draft Bill No. 2689 (War Crimes Bill), adopted in 2021, integrating Rome Statute crimes into Ukrainian law. Contributed to legal amendments on sovereignty over occupied Donetsk and Luhansk territories. Partnered with Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence and ICRC to revise the IHL Military Manual (May 2017).
Investigative and Prosecutorial Support. Advises the Office of the Prosecutor General and regional war crimes units on IHL investigations and ICC submissions. Supports evidence collection for crimes in Crimea and Donbas. Trains investigators and prosecutors on IHL standards, evidentiary requirements, and interview techniques.
Capacity Building for Civil Society. Trains NGOs and human rights defenders on IHL, ICL, and international accountability mechanisms. Co-authored ICC submissions with civil society on Crimea. Co-hosted the 2019 conference “Accountability for Grave Crimes in Ukraine: the ICC and Complementarity Options.” Provides legal support to NGOs on transitional justice and human rights in conflict.
Assisting Ukrainian investigative and prosecutorial agencies with the collation of evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Crimea and Donbas, and suspected perpetrators for domestic cases and the International Criminal Court (‘ICC’).
Since 2016, GRC has been conducting a series of training for war crimes investigators and prosecutors on elements of war crimes and crimes against humanity, evidence required to prove the commission of such crimes, and witness interview techniques.

Deliverables

Law of Ukraine No. 2688 on War Crimes

GRC was a member of the parliamentary working group which proposed the amendments implemented into the Law of Ukraine No. 2268-VIII On particularities of state policy on ensuring state sovereignty of Ukraine over the temporarily occupied territories in Donetsk and Luhansk regions

PDF link

Partners

Project partners include the War Crimes Unit of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, the regional prosecutor’s offices of Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Civil society partners include the Crimean Human Rights Group, the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, the Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group, and Vostok SOS.