SPECIFIC PROBLEMS OF QUALIFICATION OF WAR CRIMES CAUSING DAMAGE TO PROPERTY

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the problems of qualification of war
crimes that cause damage to property. It is established that the qualification of
seizure by a combatant of property belonging to the opposing parties is
influenced by two key features: 1) the legal status of the property, type of
ownership; 2) the purpose of seizure of such property. Such seizure of property of
the opposing party, which becomes the state (state property of the opposing
party) and is intended to use it for military purposes, is recognized as lawful. In
other cases, a war crime will occur, provided for in Part 1 of Article 1 of Article
438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The characteristic of the corresponding
segment of the international legal conventual framework, to which the disposition
of Part 1 of the specified article refers, is given. The features of the qualification of
seizure by a combatant of property belonging to his own army, as well as unlawful
actions with the property of civilians committed in the context of an armed
conflict, are clarified. Criteria have been developed for distinguishing lawful
damage or destruction of property in the context of an armed conflict (collateral
damage) from unlawful, war crime.