The Imposition of Criminal Penalties for Crimes Committed under State of Martial Law: Overview of International Standards

The article investigates the acute problems of imposing criminal penalties for crimes committed under the state of martial law or armed conflicts with regard to the compliance with international standards. Various approaches to strengthening the independence, objectivity and universality of the norms of international criminal law, increasing their compliance with the interests of the entire world community are analyzed. Emphasis is placed on the need to respect guarantees of procedural rights of the defendants even under the state of martial law or in armed conflicts. The protection of the rights of vulnerable groups such as women and children in detention is also addressed. The novelty of the paper is a comprehensive approach to analyzing international legal standards on the application of criminal law measures in armed conflict. Particular attention is paid to expanding the criteria for identifying and documenting the individual characteristics of victims of crime, as well as developing an investigation methodology for the integrated consideration of their personal, physical, social and functional characteristics. This will make it possible to more effectively take into account the specificity of the impact of the here above on certain categories of victims and ensure their full legal protection. The problems of improving the legal protection of individual human rights for the purposes of prevention and punishment of crimes are revealed, gaps in international legislation are studied. The interrelation of individual and group approaches to the qualification of relevant acts is analyzed; the necessity for developing methodological recommendations and possibilities for improving the conceptual and categorical apparatus of international legal acts is grounded. The conclusion is made about the importance of an integrated approach combining the development of conceptual and categorical apparatus, investigative methodology, legal guarantees and mechanisms of interstate interaction to build confidence in international criminal law and increase the effectiveness of its application. The key conclusions of the article may be of interest to scholars and practitioners of international law, criminal law and procedure.