INTERNATIONAL LEGAL STANDARDS OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR GENOCIDE AND THEIR IMPLEMENTATION INTO THE CRIMINAL LAW OF UKRAINE

Abstract

The article is devoted to a comprehensive study of genocide as one of the most serious international crimes that encroach on the foundations of peace and security of humanity. The international crime of genocide is impossible without the involvement of the state mechanism, in particular the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government. It belongs to the category of crimes for which statutes of limitations do not apply, and criminal liability for its commission is established by the norms of international and national law, regardless of the status of the subject of the crime and the presence of state immunity. Its legal recognition as an international crime was the result of a long historical and legal process that took shape in the second half of the 20th century and is based on the activities of international tribunals, acts of international law, and the practice of their application. The development of international legal regulation of responsibility for genocide has gone through several stages: “Nuremberg”, associated with the introduction of the term “genocide” and the formation of its legal features; “post- Nuremberg”, characterized by the adoption of key international documents – primarily the 1948 UN Convention “On the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide” and the 1968 Convention on the Non-Application of Limitation Periods; “Hague”, within the framework of which the practice of the International Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda contributed to the clarification of approaches to the qualification of the crime; and “Rome”, associated with the creation of the International Criminal Court, whose jurisdiction includes genocide. In 1946–1947, the UN General Assembly officially recognized genocide as an international crime, and with the entry into force of the 1951 Convention, its legal definition acquired a universal character. Since then, only acts committed after April 12, 1951, can be recognized as genocide. In modern conditions, the Statement on the commission of genocide by the Russian Federation in Ukraine, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on April 14, 2022, is of particular importance, in which international organizations and foreign states are called upon to recognize the criminal actions of the Russian Federation as genocide of the Ukrainian people and to qualify them as crimes against humanity and war crimes.