Crimes against humanity in the conditions of military conflicts of the 21st Century: The practice of international courts

Abstract

Despite the existence of norms of international public law regulating the conduct of war, during military conflicts, states completely ignore the established rules of war and go beyond common sense, committing crimes against humanity, organizing terrorist acts, and other illegal acts. In conditions where violations of the norms and rules of hostilities become a trend, it is important to investigate how international humanitarian law regulates armed conflicts, as well as the practice of international courts regarding the consideration of cases of crimes against humanity in the context of military conflicts of the 21st century. The purpose of the work is to study the practice of international judicial authorities in the investigation of crimes against humanity in the context of military conflicts of the 21st century. The research methodology consists of such methods as historical-legal, system analysis method, logical-semantic method, methods of documentary analysis, critical evaluation, and comparison. As a result of the conducted research, the peculiarities of consideration of cases regarding the commission of crimes against humanity in the conditions of military conflicts of the XXI century by international judicial bodies were considered. Thus, the concept of crime against humanity, and war crime were formed, signs of such crimes were identified, and proposals were formed to improve international legislation in terms of regulating international crimes and ways to increase the effectiveness of activities to prosecute those guilty of war crimes.