Concept and types of war crimes and the order of their investigation in the Ukrainian People's Republic for the Central Rada

Abstract

The article carries out a historical and legal analysis of the concept and types of war crimes and the order of their investigation in Ukraine under the Central Rada. It is shown that at the beginning of the Ukrainian Revolution, the «Military Criminal Statute» in the edition of July 1, 1879, with some later additions, remained in force in the military chronicles. More than 90% of the considered cases before the start of the Ukrainian revolution concerned: 1) voluntary desertion of a military unit (escape); 2) not showing up for duty at the specified time; 3) violation of the order and rules of guard service; 4) inappropriate behavior in relation to seniors in military rank, as well as officials who performed special military service duties; 5) loss and deliberate damage to military property. Of course, the revolutionary events in Ukraine made adjustments to the structure of crimes (for example, the consideration of cases under the desertion article increased), but the above-mentioned trends persisted.
 It was emphasized that the military legislation of the time provided for a preliminary investigation. Suspect servicemen who were on active duty were called in for investigation directly through their commanders. Legal reasons for not appearing at the investigation were considered to be: deprivation of the accused's liberty; natural force majeure that prevented timely arrival at the place of interrogation (for example, flooding of rivers); accident; illness (including close relatives); death. In the case of hostilities during the war, the possibility/impossibility of the arrival of the accused or witnesses was determined by the military investigator. If a military witness did not appear for questioning without reason, the military investigator was obliged to immediately inform his command.
 It is noted that at the initial stage of the Ukrainian revolution, the investigation of war crimes took place in accordance with the current Russian legislation. Most often, offenses of a disciplinary nature were recorded (violation of military discipline, disobedience to the leadership, etc.). Desertion from military units has gained a menacing scope. A new challenge for the Ukrainian authorities was the violation of social order by military personnel and the spread of Bolshevik propaganda. Revolutionary expediency led to the fact that the Central Rada took the path of mitigating punishments for military personnel who committed minor offenses on the condition that they prove that the said actions were carried out for political reasons. In particular, the Amnesty Law of 1917 provided for the absence of punishment for those who voluntarily left their military units to join Ukrainian military units.