GRC’s legal advisors joined the Inaugural Conference ‘International Law, Accountability, and Justice for Ukraine’ organised by the Louis B. Sohn Research Centre of the Faculty of Law of the Ukrainian Catholic University in collaboration with the EU Project ‘Pravo-Justice’ and the Asser Institute. The event brought together international law practitioners and academics, including members from the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group for Ukraine, with the goal of discussing international law issues related to the Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as the needs, problems and challenges for the national legal system related to the accountability processes and reintegration of the occupied territories.
In his intervention, Maksym Vishchyk, International Law Research Coordinator and Deputy Mobile Justice Team Lead, discussed the changing face of the international legal order in light of states’ latest positions challenging the peremptory prohibition of the use of force. Maksym highlighted the centrality of just peace for Ukraine to the future of the international legal order, emphasising that, as much as Ukraine needs the international legal order to defend itself, the modern legal order likewise needs a defiant Ukraine to survive.
Jeremy Pizzi, Legal Advisor and Deputy Mobile Justice Team Lead, described the main challenges affecting a realistic re-appraisal of Ukraine’s justice processes. Jeremy emphasised the need for Ukrainian authorities to rigorously adhere to the principle of legality when interpreting the scope of conduct which constitutes an international crime. He also underlined that sustainable accountability efforts require clear shifts towards strategies centred around systems of criminality and their orchestrators, as well as access to centralised evidence digitisation and case-mapping software.
Nataliia Pavlovych, Deputy Team Lead for the Environment MJT, at the panel dedicated to justice for environmental crimes, highlighted key legal challenges associated with the prosecution of environmental war crimes and the crime of ecocide. In particular, she identified the main gaps in the definition of the crime of ecocide in the Ukrainian Criminal Code and emphasised the urgent need to address them in light of the ongoing ecocide prosecutions. She also reiterated the importance of ensuring a unified and legally sound approach to the prosecution of environmental war crimes, so that the historical practice being developed by Ukraine can serve as a model for the international community.
“In addition to practical support of Ukraine’s justice actors, including through mobile justice teams, GRC is also proud of its continuous involvement in international law educational and academic projects in Ukraine. The establishment of the Louis B. Sohn Research Centre at the Ukrainian Catholic University is another valuable example of the development of Ukraine’s robust international law community, which is the foundation for robust accountability efforts for years and decades to come,” — commented Maksym.
