Taking Russia to Court: Prosecution of International Crimes

This article summarizes the discourse around the investigation and prosecution of the international crimes committed by Russian officials and the Russian military in the war of aggression against Ukraine. It digests the efforts of states and international institutions to achieve accountability for the crime of aggression, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide allegedly committed in Ukraine. It highlights the investigation into the situation in Ukraine by the International Criminal Court and analyzes the ongoing debate over the establishment of a special international criminal tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine

Legal Protection of Sexual Minorities in International Criminal Law

For a long time, the issues of sexual orientation and gender identity have been restrained from entering the legal arena as being regarded as too radical. In today’s society, these issues warrant consideration in the context of international criminal law. Critically reflecting on the way of placing these grounds within the international criminal law framework, this paper tries to unpack the sheer possibility of addressing them within the core international crimes. Correctly defining terms such as “sexual orientation” and “gender” is not only germane, but also necessary for international criminal law to tackle them accordingly. By doing so, the power of legal argumentation in international criminal law for protecting sexual minorities is strengthened, but its boundaries and vulnerabilities are also exposed. This paper proposes that the described massive violation of the most fundamental human rights should be legally qualified as persecution. For protecting sexual minorities on an international criminal law scale, it is argued that we are not really “there” yet, but we might just be on the right track

The Illusive Nature of ‘Russian International Law

The monograph written by Estonian international law scholar Lauri Mälksoo is impressively well-timed. The record of recent international legal developments involving Russia is striking: the annexation of Crimea and the armed conflict in Ukraine, Russia’s ‘sanctions war’ with the United States and the European Union, nonrecognition and non-compliance with the international arbitral award in the Yukos case, and earlier, in 2013, Russia’s boycott of the proceedings at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Most recently, already subsequent to the publication of Russian Approaches to International Law, in July 2015 the Russian Constitutional Court sent a message of open disregard to Strasbourg by declaring that the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights could not be implemented in Russia if they contradicted the Russian Constitution. In all these instances the Russian government relied on its own reading of international law, which appeared not only to be strikingly different from that of the vast majority of states, but often detrimental to the foundations of the discipline. One might wonder whether these events are just the excesses of authoritarian power-politics, or more fundamentally grounded. Specifically, is there any special Russian international school of legal thought (referred to below as ‘Russian international law’)? And if there is, may it serve as a plausible alternative to Western-centric contemporary international law? Lauri Mälksoo’s book is the first genuine response to these questions

The Triumph of Evil

Putin's regime finally murdered Alexei Navalny, a Russian patriot and freedom fighter. Regardless of how the events on 16 February unfolded, his death is a direct result of the actions of Russian state agents who had long been working towards his death. Putin’s belief in his absolute impunity, reinforced by appeasement, was a decisive factor that facilitated Alexei Navalny's murder. However, what happened to Navalny must not happen to Vladimir Kara-Murza, Aleksei Gorinov, Ilya Yashin, and many others. Navalny’s death is a huge loss for all Russians who believe in a free and peaceful future for their country, but also for Europe and the world

Voting in Russia: Please Don't Call it "Elections"

On September 8, numerous Russian regions voted in the framework of a so-called “single voting day”. Most significantly, Moscow voted for the members of City Council (“Duma”), and Russia’s second-largest city Saint Petersburg was to elect its governor. It would be a mistake, however, to draw any conclusions on the sentiments of the Russian people from the results as the voting process was skewed at every stage of the so-called “election”.</p