04.15.2022 18:37 (Akt. 04.15.2022 20:24)
The Ministry of Justice is preparing a decree for the Public Ministry. ©APA/MICHAEL GRUBER
War crimes committed in Ukraine could soon be prosecuted by the Austrian judiciary. A decree corresponding to the Public Ministry is currently being drafted.
As the Ministry of Justice confirmed Friday to the APA, a decree is being prepared for the Public Ministry “which will specify the requirements for domestic jurisdiction in the case of war crimes”. A possible starting point is the admission of Ukrainian war refugees by Austria.
Austria’s judiciary may prosecute war crimes soon
In principle, the judiciary is only responsible for crimes committed abroad if there is a connection with Austria – for example, through the citizenship or whereabouts of the perpetrator or victim. Both are unlikely in the case of Ukraine’s war crimes. However, jurisdiction can also arise if “there is a violation of Austrian interests that justifies domestic jurisdiction”.
The decree must now answer the question of when this is the case. “In particular, it is being examined whether the arrival of refugees in Austria would constitute a violation of Austrian interests and therefore justify domestic jurisdiction for certain crimes,” the ministry said. As was also said when questioned by the APA, the decree would not bind the interpretation of the law by the courts.
It is still unclear when exactly the decree would be issued and what offenses it would relate to. The “Kleine Zeitung” reported on the relevant considerations on Friday. According to the newspaper, Germany, Poland and Lithuania have already created the possibility of bringing Russian war criminals to justice in Ukraine during the course of the war in Ukraine.
International Criminal Court prosecutes war crimes
To facilitate the prosecution of war crimes, the international community created the International Criminal Court (ICC), based in The Hague. However, neither Russia nor Ukraine are parties to the ICC Statute. However, Ukraine has declared that it will voluntarily submit to the jurisdiction of the World Court. Before the founding of the ICC, there were special ad hoc tribunals, for example, for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia or Rwanda. ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan visited atrocities in Ukraine this week and described the country as a “crime scene”. The ICC investigations began in early March. As a contracting party to the ICC, Austria is obliged to extradite war crimes suspects.