Ukrainian courts are studying and analyzing international practice of war crime prosecutions so as to ensure high standards of justice during the trials on war crimes committed by Russia in the territory of Ukraine, Chairman of the Supreme Court of Ukraine Stanislav Kravchenko has said.

During the 11th International Judicial and Legal Forum in Kyiv on Thursday, he said that since April 2022 Ukrainian judges have started to analyze in detail the practice of international courts, in particular, The Hague Tribunal.

"Article 438 of the Criminal Code – violation of the laws and customs of war. The lawmaker presented the norm in such an interesting manner so that it contains his own vision of 'killing the civilian population,' 'violence against the civilian population,' for example, ended a definition with 'and other violations of the Convention.' It became obvious that it is necessary to analyze the practice of defining the notions of 'war,' 'war of aggression' over the past 100 years and how it is correct to streamline an indictment. If we do not streamline it with the entire world, then we will have big problems," Kravchenko said.

According to the court chairman, it is important that the investigating authorities and prosecutors from the very beginning formulate the charges in such a way that it would be possible to apply certain qualifications that are acceptable throughout the world.

Kravchenko recalled that the courts in cases of Russia's war crimes widely use the practice of prosecution in absentia.

"When I started to analyze the international tribunal practice on my own, we held a number of events with the participation of former judges of the international tribunal, then at some point I became a bit scared... No matter how painful and difficult it may be for us [...] if we do not ensure high standards of administration of justice, we will face a problem that our courts are unjust," he said.

Speaking about justice and subsequently the approval of national courts' rulings at the international level, Kravchenko noted that it is about strict observance of the procedure.

"As for defense. In the first cases, we heard lawyers claim that people identify the defender with the defendant, not realizing that if there is no fair defense, then there will be no fair trial, and we, as a state, will obviously lose, although we will get some kind of decision," he said.

Kravchenko stressed that Ukrainian judges are being trained and consultations with international institutions are regularly held.

Speaking about the initiative to create the International Tribunal for Crime of Aggression, Kravchenko said: "Yes, we came up with the initiative to have a separate tribunal. But we must understand that this is for a very small number of persons, senior officials, in particular, those who have international immunity."

"We clearly understand [...] that the bulk of crimes – 99% - will be tried by national courts," he said.

According to the court chairman, at present, all efforts are aimed at properly collecting the evidence base, determining the amount of damage, fixing the evidence base in order to be able to complete the investigation.