Dustin Lewis

With respect to the situation in Ukraine, the ICC prosecutor may investigate allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide, the ICC is empowered to exercise jurisdiction only over natural persons. In other words, The ICC may institute proceedings only against individual humans. The ICC has no jurisdiction over the entities with which those humans may be affiliated, such as a government or a military.

The ICC may exercise jurisdiction only over individual humans ; The ICC has no jurisdiction over states such as Ukraine and Russia, the ICC operates on the basis that The ICC may prosecute anyone who is responsible for committing a crime falling within the jurisdiction of the court, irrespective of whether the person is a national of a state party to the court. Under that approach, The ICC may institute proceedings against a Russian or a Ukrainian national for a crime falling within the court’s jurisdiction allegedly committed on the territory of Ukraine during the current armed conflict.