THE LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF GRAVE BREACHES OF THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS IN INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW

Abstract

The article emphasizes the close interrelation between the norms of international humanitarian law, international criminal law, and international human rights law. Serious human rights violations include the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. A distinct category is constituted by war crimes, which, in addition to the provisions of the Rome Statute, are comprehensively regulated by the four Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Additional Protocols (I, II, and III) thereto.These international instruments impose on states the obligation to criminalize grave breaches of international humanitarian law within their national legal systems. In Ukraine, this requirement has been implemented, in particular, by incorporating relevant provisions into the Criminal Code of Ukraine. War crimes are not subject to any statute of limitations, and their impunity is inadmissible. A state must identify (search for) individuals who have committed such crimes and bring them to justice, regardless of their nationality, or extradite them to other states together with the evidence required for prosecution. At the same time, a fair trial must be guaranteed in accordance with international standards of due process. States bear responsibility for violations of international humanitarian law when they fail to fulfill their obligations to protect the civilian population and to restrict the means and methods of warfare, as well as when they provide assistance or support to parties that breach these norms. Under international humanitarian law, serious violations of the Geneva Conventions are recognized as war crimes. Mechanisms of international jurisdiction, particularly the activities of the International Criminal Court and national judicial authorities, play a crucial role in ensuring the inevitability of punishment.The legal consequences of such crimes are aimed not only at holding perpetrators accountable but also at preventing future offenses and strengthening the international legal order.