Legal nature of the concept of genocide: international and national experience

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of our research is to characterize and compare the main approaches to the interpretation of the content of the concept of genocide in international and national law. Method. The methodology includes the complex use of scientific approaches and principles, as well as general scientific, philosophical and special scientific methods. Results. It has been established that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and atrocities against the civilian population are an example of the fact that the crime of genocide, as a form of individual and collective responsibility of the aggressor state against a sovereign state and its population, requires a thorough legal justification, both within the international and within the limits of national law. Actually, the signs of genocide remain debatable in international law, because the planned physical destruction of a separate ethnic group or people is often interpreted as "ethnic cleansing" and at the same time the concept of "genocide" is used in order to draw attention to individual actions or inactions of the state. In the national legislation, the concept of genocide is used in accordance with the interpretation of the Holodomor of 1932-1933 and the actual events of the full-scale invasion. However, if in the case of the Holodomor, one can only monitor the preservation of historical memory, because it is impossible to bring to justice the perpetrators of the genocide against Ukrainians in the 1930s, then the modern crimes of Russians must be clearly recorded and brought to justice both in the military and above military and political leadership of the aggressor state. Scientific novelty. An analysis of the main aspects of international and national legislation defining the crime of genocide was carried out. Practical significance. The results of the research can be used in further historical and legal studies, preparation of special courses.