International Legal Mechanisms for Holding the Russian Federation Accountable for Causing Environmental Damage as a Result of Armed Aggression against Ukraine
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46282/blr.2023.7.1.354Keywords:
Environmental Damage, Environmental Responsibility, International Environmental Law, Environmental Protection during Armed ConflictsAbstract
As a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, significant damage was caused to the environment. Official data published by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine regarding the extent of environmental damage already caused indicates catastrophic consequences. That is why it is important to establish the illegality of causing environmental damage as a result of hostilities, to properly collect evidence, establish the amount of damage caused and to hold the Russian Federation accountable for causing this damage. The steps taken by Ukraine to achieve the abovementioned tasks were disclosed. The article analyses existing international mechanisms for environmental protection during armed conflicts and the possibility of holding Russian Federation responsible for environmental damage caused to Ukraine as a result of armed aggression. A conclusion was made about the possibility of holding the Russian Federation accountable for environmental damage according to the customary norms of the law of international responsibility by creating a special international tribunal.
References
Dawes, J. (2022). It is time to make ecocide an international crime. OpenGlobalRights. Available at: https://www.openglobalrights.org/it-is-time-to-make-ecocide-an-international-crime/ (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Greenwood, Ch. (1996). State Responsibility and Civil Liability for Environmental Damage Caused by Military Operations. International Law Studies, vol. 69, 397-415. Available at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1521&context=ils (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Mackielo, A. L. (2009). Core Rules of International Environmental Law. ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law, 16(1), 257-299. Available at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/ilsajournal/vol16/iss1/11 (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Mareček, L. (2022). ICJ: Ukraine v. Russian Federation (Order of 16 March 2022 in the Case Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide). Bratislava Law Review, 6(2), 139-148. DOI: https://doi.org/10.46282/blr.2022.6.2.307 DOI: https://doi.org/10.46282/blr.2022.6.2.307
Ozoráková, L. (2022). The Road to Finding a Definition for the Crime of Genocide –the Importance of the Genocide Convention. The Law & Practice of International Courts and Tribunals, 21(2), 278-301.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15718034-12341475 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15718034-12341475
Sand, P. H. (2005). Compensation for Environmental Damage from the 1991 Gulf War. Environmental Policy and Law, 35(6), 244-249. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292506890_Compensation_for_environmental_damage_from_the_1991_Gulf_War (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Singh, A. P. (2010). Protection of environment during armed conflict: is a new frame of laws necessary? Journal of the Indian Law Institute, 52 (3/4), 453-466. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/45148534 (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Vashchenko, Y. (2021). Access to Modern Energy Services through the Prism of Children’s Rights: An Overview from the Perspectives of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Policy and Law Approaches of Certain EU Member States and Ukraine. International Comparative Jurisprudence, 7(1), 75-87. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13165/j.icj.2021.06.006 DOI: https://doi.org/10.13165/j.icj.2021.06.006
Dashboard with data on environmental threats. EcoZagroza. Available at: https://ecozagroza.gov.ua/en (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts. (2001). Available at: https://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/commentaries/9_6_2001.pdf (accessed on 01.06.2023).
European Commission (2022). Ukraine: Commission presents options to make sure that Russia pays for its crimes. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_7311 (accessed on 01.06.2023).
ICC (1996). Advisory Opinion on Nuclear Weapons. Available at: https://www.icj-cij.org/case/95 (accessed on 01.06.2023).
ICC (2016). Report on Preliminary Examination Activities. Available at: https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/iccdocs/otp/161114-otp-rep-PE_ENG.pdf (accessed on 01.06.2023).
ICRC. Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), 8 June 1977. Commentary of 1987. Article 35. Available at: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/api-1977/article-35/commentary/1987?activeTab=undefined (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine (2022). Briefing on the environmental damage caused by the Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Available at: https://ecozagroza.gov.ua/en/news/103 (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Ministry of the Environment (2022). The scale of the damage caused to the environment of Ukraine by the aggression of the Russian Federation shocks the whole world. Available at: https://www.kmu.gov.ua/news/mindovkillya-masshtabi-shkodi-zavdanoyi-dovkillyu-ukrayini-vid-agresiyi-rf-vrazhayut-ves-svit (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Opinion of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in the case based on the constitutional submission of the President of Ukraine on the provision of an opinion on the conformity of the Constitution of Ukraine with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute case) of July 11, 2001, N 1-35/2001. Available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/v003v710-01#Text (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Order of the Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine of 04.04.2022 No. 167 "On the approval of the Methodology for determining the amount of damage caused to land and soil as a result of emergency situations and/or armed aggression and hostilities during martial law". Available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z0406-22#Text (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Order of the Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine dated 13.04.2022 No. 175 "On the approval of the Methodology for calculating unorganised emissions of pollutants or a mixture of such substances into the atmospheric air as a result of emergency situations and/or during martial law and determining the amount of damage caused". Available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z0433-22#Text (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Resolution 2436 (2022). Available at: https://pace.coe.int/en/files/30024/html (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Press room (2022). Ukraine war: MEPs push for special tribunal to punish Russian crimes. News: European Parliament. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20230113IPR66653/ukraine-war-meps-push-for-special-tribunal-to-punish-russian-crimes (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol 1). Available at: https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/Doc.34_AP-I-EN.pdf (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 326 of March 20, 2022: "On approval of the Procedure for determining the damage and losses caused to Ukraine as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation". Available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/326-2022-%D0%BF#Text (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine "On the Address of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the United Nations, the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the GUAM Parliamentary Assembly, and the national parliaments of foreign countries regarding the creation of a special international tribunal on the crime of aggression against Ukraine". (2015). Available at: https://ips.ligazakon.net/document/T150129 (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Available at: https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/RS-Eng.pdf (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Security Council Resolution 687(1991) of 3 April 1991: Iraq-Kuwait Resolution. Available at: https://peacemaker.un.org/iraqkoweit-resolution687 (accessed on 01.06.2023).
UNGA Resolution (2022). Furtherance of remedy and reparation for aggression against Ukraine, A/ES-11/L.6. Available at: https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/N2267912.pdf (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Екологія. Право. Людина. Available at: http://epl.org.ua/pronas/ (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Центр екологічних ініціатив “Екодія”. Available at: https://ecoaction.org.ua/ (accessed on 01.06.2023).
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Bratislava Law Review
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The Author(s) transfers copyright to the Article to the Publisher of the Journal by the Licence Agreement.
The Author(s) retains rights specified in the Licence Agreement.
The readers may read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of all of the Article of the Journal and use them for any other lawful purpose under specified Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
How to Cite
