Supreme Court judges join discussion on criminal prosecution of war crimes in Ukraine

Nataliia Antoniuk, Vice President of the Criminal Cassation Court within the Supreme Court, and Mykola Kovtunovych, Supreme Court Judge in the Criminal Cassation Court, participated in the international training for Ukrainian judges on "Prosecution and Adjudication of War Crimes in Ukraine".

At the opening of the event, Nataliia Antoniuk gave a welcoming speech in which she emphasized the need for thematic training in dealing with war crimes cases. The speaker also emphasized the importance of holding criminally accountable military commanders who failed to respond to and investigate the commission of war crimes by their subordinates.

The guests were also welcomed by the Director of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, Professor Dr. Christoph Safferling, and Senior Prosecutor at the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group, Klaus Hoffmann.

Ukrainian judges, together with leading scholars of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, discussed the basic principles of international humanitarian law, the classification of military (combat) operations and persons involved in them, as well as the use of information from open sources and the consideration of cases in absentia. Delegates and speakers exchanged views on international cooperation and legal assistance in the investigation of this category of crimes.

The training explored the history of the Nuremberg Trials, one of the most famous international trials of Nazi Germany's leaders. The delegation also visited the Nuremberg Trials Memorial and the permanent exhibition.

As part of the visit, the participants visited the Higher Regional Court of Munich, the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice (Munich), the Federal Ministry of Justice of Germany and the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.

The training for Ukrainian judges "Prosecution and Adjudication of War Crimes in Ukraine" was organized by the National School of Judges of Ukraine in cooperation with and at the invitation of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy.