Assessing War Crimes Accountability Through Just War Theory: A Comparative Legal Analysis of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Abstract: With the great power games and the continued escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the international community has paid great attention to the issue of war crimes, prompting the war crimes accountability mechanism to become an important topic in the field of international law. This new type of war crimes accountability mechanism is an intertwining of the theory of just war and the applicability of international law, reflecting the complex global scrutiny of legal responsibility and moral constraints in conflicts under the current complex geopolitical factors. Against this backdrop, the International Criminal Court (ICC), national courts, and relevant institutions are attempting to build an effective accountability network to pursue war crimes through legal means. How to assess the accountability mechanism for war crimes through the just war theory and how the applicability of international law affects the justice of war will become an important factor in promoting universal adherence to international law and upholding the justice of war.