Safeguarding Equal Rights in the Constitutional Practices of Ukraine and European Nations from the 18th to 20th Centuries

Objectives: The study aims to find opportunities to develop effective mechanisms for classifying war crimes in the current war in Ukraine and to bring perpetrators to justice. Theoretical Framework: There is an urgent need to develop a categorical concept of “war crime” in international criminal law and to resolve theoretical problems of the substantive legal basis. Method: The study applies general scientific and private scientific research methods: dialectical, systematic, historical, logical, comparative legal, formal legal and other methods. Results and Discussion: According to the amendments to the Rome Statute that added war crimes to the International Criminal Court (ICC) jurisdiction, a state must confirm the ICC’s jurisdiction over aggression for its citizens to be tried for the crime. However, Russia has not done so. Research Implications: The list of actions that may be considered violations of the laws and customs of war does not necessarily have to coincide with the list in Article 8 of the Rome Statute or the list of severe violations of international humanitarian law under the Geneva Convention or the first additional gap. It can be expanded, but not arbitrarily. Originality/Value: There is a wide field for both scientific research and practical discussion on the formation of vectors for the development of a system of recommendations on the qualification of war crimes in the context of the war in Ukraine, which, in the context of extreme tension in the Middle East, may be even more challenging for the international legal community.