Abstract
Trends in modern geopolitical development actualize the risks of destabilization of international security and systemic violation of the concepts of international law. In international criminal law, war crimes are recognized as gross violations of the laws of war, which entail the responsibility of individuals. At the same time, guarantees of the human right to inviolability and security, peace, life and health form the core of the humanitarian legal field. These risks are gaining particular importance against the backdrop of the protracted Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The purpose of the article is to analyze the evolution of the concept of war crimes in international criminal law in accordance with modern challenges. The study considers the main challenges to the legitimacy of international criminal law in the current circumstances of socio-political development. The potential of key international legal institutions for the implementation of norms and generally accepted requirements of criminal law during periods of acute military conflicts is analyzed. The specifics of hybrid war as an innovative type of armed conflict in the context of war crimes are investigated. The low effectiveness of the traditional sanctions policy in preventing war crimes is emphasized. The need for the development and integration of international legal norms to guarantee the protection of human rights in wartime, prevent manifestations of terrorism, ensure interaction and unity between different-level subjects of criminal law is emphasized. It is substantiated that war crimes are one of the main international crimes, which, together with genocide, are subject to liability in accordance with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The need for further improvement of legal concepts for identifying war crimes, their documentation and bringing perpetrators to justice, as well as international unification of approaches to the transaction in this area of criminal law is proven.
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