The role of civil society institutions in combating the consequences of russian aggression against Ukraine

Abstract

The article discusses the role of civil society institutions in the process of overcoming the consequences of russian aggression against Ukraine. It is highlined that one of these consequences is the need to document numerous war crimes in order to further use such materials in international courts and tribunals. It is emphasized that in the context of martial law, the law enforcement system faces a number of objective factors that impede the adequate performance of their functions, including such as 1) the need to document and investigate mass acts of commission of war crimes while continuing to perform the functions of law ordering; 2) loss of access to temporarily occupied territories when they became the epicentre of mass crimes on the part of the invaders. It is seen that civil society and its numerous institutions, which were actively involved in the process of overcoming the consequences of aggression, became an obvious support for the state and the law enforcement system. The activity and degree of involvement of civil society and its institutions in activities related to overcoming the consequences of the russian federation full-scale war aggression against Ukraine demonstrate a high level of involvement of all kinds of civic institutions in this process, which is carried out in different directions (from the assistance of the army – to evacuation of civilians from the territories affected by war actions, etc.). One of the tasks assumed by civil society was the activity of documenting war crimes, which was actively involved in civil society institutions, both Ukrainian and international representatives. It is emphasized that the important role of social institutions in the process of documenting war crimes is emphasized by Nobel Prize Committee, which honoured the Peace Award 2022 for civil society representatives, in particular for their activities in the documentation of war crimes. As a result, the need to develop legislative mechanisms on the interaction of the state and its law enforcement system with civil society institutions in the direction of documenting war crimes is emphasized.