One Year at War: Prospects for Accountability for International Crimes Committed in Ukraine

Please join us on Tuesday, 3/21/2023 from 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. for a virtual Webinar given by our guest Emma Lindsay, Partner at Withersworldwide and practitioner of international arbitration and public international law. The seminar will be moderated by Professor Brian Michael Richardson.

RSVP here:

Please register for the Webinar at the following link: https://cornell.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Xce-AV9HSv-3837ESIqvLA

The Seminar:

One Year at War: Prospects for Accountability for International Crimes Committed in Ukraine

With the passing of the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the conflict continues. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has been condemned in the strongest possible terms as a clear violation of international law and a serious threat to the rules-based international order. The war has created a humanitarian, social, and economic crisis for the Ukrainian people, causing extreme civilian harm and leaving millions without access to food, water, and other essential supplies. The consequences of this full-scale military invasion are disrupting the global supply of commodities, sharply increasing food and energy prices, and threatening the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Innocent civilians have been cruelly caught up in the conflict, with nearly 22,000 casualties recorded since the invasion began. More than 8,000 people have been killed, with the actual number likely much higher. Over 14 million people have fled Ukraine and over 7 million have been internally displaced.

As the conflict enters its second year, what are the prospects for efforts to deliver justice for international crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine? Ukraine is investigating more than 65,000 potential Russian war crimes – killings, kidnappings, indiscriminate bombings, and sexual assaults. The United Nations General Assembly has called for Russia to pay war reparations to Ukraine. There have been proposals for accountability through the United Nations and regional organizations (notably the Council of Europe), through civil and criminal cases in national jurisdictions (including under universal jurisdiction laws), and through international criminal tribunals (including the International Criminal Court and a possible special tribunal for the crime of aggression). Emma Lindsay will discuss these proposals and the prospects for accountability for international crimes committed in Ukraine.

About our Distinguished Guest:

Emma Lindsay

Emma is a partner at Withersworldwide in New York where she leads the US international arbitration and public international law practice. She is a member of the legal Task Force on Accountability for Crimes Committed in Ukraine formed by the Government of Ukraine which has been supporting Ukraine in its efforts to deliver justice for international crimes committed by Russia.