AP Description: Who are war criminals and who decides?

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has categorically declared Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” because of the ongoing attack on Ukraine, where Russian troops bombed hospitals and maternity wards in Wednesday. However, declaring someone a war criminal is not as easy as just saying words. Definitions and procedures are in place to determine who is liable to any penalty.

The White House refrained from appointing Putin after saying that international investigations and decisions were needed. After Biden used the term, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that the president “spoke with his heart”, and she reiterated that there was a process for formally implementing the decision.

However, on a popular level, this expression has acquired a colloquial meaning in general terms of a violent person.

“It is clear that Putin is a war criminal, but the president is talking about it politically,” said David Crane, who has worked for decades in war crimes and served as chief prosecutor the UN Special Court in Sierra Leone. Charles Taylor, former President of Liberia.

The investigation into Putin has already begun. Since the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution establishing a committee of inquiry, the United States and 44 countries have been working together to investigate possible violations and abuses. Another investigation is being conducted before the International Criminal Court, an independent body based in the Netherlands.

“We are at the beginning of the beginning.” On the day of the invasion, his team formed a task force to gather information on war crimes crimes. Crane is also developing a prototype of an official prosecution against Putin. He predicted that the accusation against the President of Russia could occur within a year. However, this type of crime does not apply to the decree.

Let's see how it all works.

Who are war criminals?

This term applies to anyone who violates a set of rules promulgated by the rulers of the world and known as the laws of war that govern the conduct of the state during war.

They were modified and expanded in the last century, in accordance with the Geneva Convention at the end of World War II and a protocol added later.

These rules are designed to protect those who are not fighting, including civilians, such as doctors and nurses, wounded soldiers and prisoners of war, and those who are unable to continue fighting. Treaties and protocols specify who can be attacked and what weapons can be attacked. Certain weapons, including chemical and biological agents, are prohibited.

What specific crimes make a person a war criminal?

The so - called “grave breaches” of the Convention that constitute war crimes include not only intentional death but also extensive destruction and distribution of property not justified by military necessity. Other war crimes include the deliberate targeting of civilians, the unbalanced use of force, the use of human shields and hostage-taking.

The International Criminal Court also prosecutes crimes against humanity committed in the context of “widespread or systematic attacks against civilians” including murder, extermination, forced deportation, torture, rape and sexual slavery.

The most likely way to identify Putin as a war criminal is the widely accepted legal doctrine of command responsibility. If the commander learns of the crime and orders, knows or cannot do anything to prevent the crime, he can assume legal responsibility.

What is the path to justice?

In general, there are four ways to investigate and determine war crimes, but each method has its limitations. One of them is through the International Criminal Court.

The second option would be for the UN to shift the work of the Investigative Committee to the Mixed International War Crimes Court in order to bring Putin to justice.

The third is to create a tribunal or court to prosecute Putin by interested or affected groups or groups of countries, such as NATO, the European Union, and the United States. One example is the Nuremberg Trials against the Nazi class after the end of World War II.

Finally, some countries have their own laws providing for the prosecution of war crimes. For example, Germany is already investigating Putin. Although the United States does not have such laws, the Department of Justice has a special section that focuses mainly on acts such as international genocide, torture, the recruitment of child soldiers and amputation of female genital organs.

Where can Putin be held accountable?

It is unclear: Russia does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and does not hand over a suspect to a court based in The Hague, the Netherlands. could be prosecuted in a consortium of countries chosen by the United Nations or countries of interest. But it will be difficult to take it.

Had other rulers been prosecuted in the past?

Yes. After the Second World War, various segments of the population were prosecuted in countries such as Bosnia, Cambodia and Rwanda, following the Nuremberg and Tokyo courts.

Former Yugoslav ruler Slobodan Milosevic appeared before the United Nations Tribunal in The Hague for the bloody conflict during the fall of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. He died in prison before the court ruled. His Bosnian Serb ally Radovan Karazic and Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic were tried and both sentenced to life imprisonment.

Taylor from Liberia was sentenced to 50 years after being convicted of mitigating atrocities in neighboring Sierra Leone. Former Chadian dictator Hissène Abre (Hissen Abre), who died last year, became the first former head of state to be convicted of crimes against humanity in an African court. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

___

Coder is reported in the Netherlands. Rhonda Schaffner, a journalism researcher based in New York, contributed to the work of this office.