US President Joe Biden has publicly called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal, but legal experts said a prosecution of Putin or other Russian leaders would face high hurdles and could take year
The International Criminal Court in The Hague defines war crimes as"grave breaches" of the post-World War Two Geneva Conventions, agreements which lay out the international humanitarian laws to be followed in war time. Breaches include deliberately targeting civilians and attacking legitimate military targets where civilian casualties would be “excessive,” legal experts said.
The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, said this month he had opened an investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine. "It's not going to stop the international court from pursuing its prosecution and issuing its arrest warrants," said American University law professor Rebecca Hamilton.The ICC will issue an arrest warrant if prosecutors can show"reasonable grounds to believe" war crimes were committed. To obtain a conviction, the prosecutor would have to prove a defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, experts said.
A prosecutor could present evidence that Putin or another state leader committed a war crime by directly ordering an illegal attack or knew crimes were being committed and failed to prevent them. In addition to the challenges they face proving intent in many cases and linking leaders directly to specific attacks, prosecutors can have a tough time obtaining evidence, including testimony from witnesses who might be intimidated or otherwise reluctant to speak out.
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