Criminal legal assessment of military personnel's actions in carrying out acts of aggression

Subject of research is the criminal law relations that arise when military personnel are held accountable for participating in acts of aggression, the specifics of qualifying their actions as complicity in a crime, as well as the problems of executing criminal orders in the context of military operations.

Purpose of research to conduct a multifaceted examination of the legal framework regulating the imposition of criminal liability upon military personnel involved in aggressive actions. The investigation seeks to delve into the intricate web of legal provisions that govern such responsibilities while simultaneously exploring the profound historical legacy of the Nuremberg trials.

Research methods include formal legal analysis of normative legal acts; comparative legal method in the study of domestic and international legislation; historical and legal analysis of the materials of the Nuremberg trials; a systematic approach in the study of criminal law norms on complicity; the method of legal modeling in the development of proposals for improving legislation.

Objects of research: norms of international and national criminal law governing responsibility for aggression; materials of the Nuremberg trials and modern judicial practice; legal positions of international tribunals on military liability; doctrinal approaches to understanding the institution of complicity in war crimes.

Research findings: in the course of the study, the peculiarities of bringing to justice for complicity in crimes of aggression were analyzed, and the problems of qualifying the actions of military personnel in the execution of criminal orders were identified. The necessity of distinguishing the responsibilities of leaders and perpetrators of war crimes is substantiated. Recommendations are proposed to improve the mechanism of prosecution for war crimes, taking into account the specifics of the participation of military personnel. Criteria for determining the limits of responsibility for the execution of criminal orders in the context of military operations have been developed.