from 01.01.2023 until now
Irkutsk, Irkutsk region, Russian Federation
Introduction: An analysis of war crimes and the peculiarities of their qualification indicates the presence of not only responsibility directly for the persons who committed these acts, but also for the persons under whose command the criminals were. International criminal law establishes the institution of “command responsibility,” in which a commander or superior is always responsible for the criminal actions of his subordinates. Therefore, within the framework of the study, the author reveals the theoretical features of this institution and the problems of its legal regulation from the perspective of national criminal legislation. Materials and methods: The work materials are the norms of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, other national legal acts, the Statute of the International Criminal Court and materials of judicial precedents of international tribunals. Methods of description, analysis, comparison and a systematic research method were used. Results of the study: The results of the work were a final assessment of the analyzed materials regarding the need to make changes and consolidate special offenses that provide for the responsibility of the commander and superior in the event of their subordinates committing war crimes, taking into account the specifics of the subject itself and the nature of the failure to fulfill their powers. Findings and conclusions: Allowed the author to identify the shortcomings of the current criminal legislation and formulate recommendations for changing it.
war crimes, command responsibility, responsibility of commanders, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, international treaties of the Russian Federation
1. Uil'yamson D. A. Nekotorye razmyshleniya ob otvetstvennosti komandovaniya i ugolovnoj otvetstvennosti [Some reflections on command and criminal responsibility]. Mezhdunarodnyj zhurnal Krasnogo Kresta – International Journal of the Red Cross. 2008, no.870, vol. 90, pp. 131-154.
2. Lobanov S. A. Mezhdunarodnaya ugolovnaya otvetstvennost' za voennye prestupleniya : special'nost' 12.00.10 «Mezhdunarodnoe pravo; Evropejskoe pravo» : dissertaciya na soiskanie uchenoj stepeni doktora yuridicheskih nauk. [International criminal responsibility for war crimes International Law; European Law" : dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Law]. Moscow, 2018. 495 p.
3. Akimov V. A., Bodaevskij V. P., Kodincev S. A. Voennye prestupleniya v ugolovnom prave Rossii [War Crimes in Russian Criminal Law]. Simferopol, 2019, 614 p.
4. Sibileva O. P. Otvetstvennost' komandirov za narusheniya v sfere mezhdunarodnogo gumanitarnogo prava [Responsibility of commanders for violations of international humanitarian law]. Voennaya mysl' – Military thought. 2013, no. 8, pp. 59-67. URL: https://www.elibrary.az/docs/jurnal/jrn2013_508.pdf (22.12.2025).
5. J.-M. Henckaerts, L. Doswald-Beck Obychnoe mezhdunarodnoe gumanitarnoe pravo. Normy [Customary International Humanitarian Law. Norms]. 2006. URL: https://www.refworld.org/ru/reference/handbook/icrc/2006/ru/136052 (22.12.2024).
6. Verle G. Principy mezhdunarodnogo ugolovnogo prava [Principles of international criminal law] . Moscow, 2011, 910 p.
7. Lyamin N. M. Mezhdunarodnaya ugolovnaya otvetstvennost' komandirov (grazhdanskih nachal'nikov) za mezhdunarodnye prestupleniya, sovershennye ih podchinennymi [International criminal responsibility of commanders (civilian superiors) for international crimes, committed by their subordinates]. Evrazijskij yuridicheskij zhurnal – The Eurasian Law Journal. 2014, no. 9 (76),pp. 103-107.
8. Levandovskaya M. G. Doktrina gosudarstvennogo akta i ugolovnaya otvetstvennost' za voennye prestupleniya [The Doctrine of the State Act and Criminal Responsibility for War Crimes]. Problemy v rossijskom zakonodatel'stve – Problems in Russian legislation. 2016, no. 5, pp. 37-40.
9. Esakov G. A. Otvetstvennost' komandirov v rossijskom ugolovnom prave s tochki zreniya De Lege Lata [Responsibility of commanders in Russian criminal law from the point of view of De Lege Lata]. Lex Russica. 2017, no.11 (132), pp. 93-99.
10. Haertdinova E. R. Otvetstvennost' voennosluzhashchih i komandirov (nachal'nikov) voinskih chastej za prestupleniya protiv voennoj sluzhby [Responsibility of military personnel and commanders (chiefs) of military units for crimes against military service]. Yuridicheskij vestnik Dagestanskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta –Law Vestnik of Dagestan State University. 2019, no. 2, pp. 130-135
