March 4, Anthony Colangelo, Professor of Law at the SMU Dallas Dedman School of Law, for a commentary outlining the international laws that make it possible to prosecute Vladimir Putin for various war crimes. Published in The Hill under the heading Putin can be prosecuted for crimes of aggression — but likely not any time soon: https://bit.ly/3KccW0a
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a clear violation of international law that opens the door to prosecuting Russian President Vladimir Putin down the road. The United Nations Charter prohibits aggressive use of force, and Russia has no valid claim that it is using force in self-defense. To assert self-defense, a state must be the victim of an actual or imminent armed attack. No facts support a claim that Russia is the victim of such an attack.
The ban on aggressive use of force is such a fundamental element of international law that when a state breaches it, its leaders can be held criminally responsible. After World War II, dozens of political and military leaders of Germany and Japan were convicted of the crime of aggression by international tribunals set up in Nuremberg and Tokyo.
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