Issue: № 3, 2025
Doi: https://doi.org/10.37634/efp.2025.3.18
The issue of criminal legal counteraction to propaganda, planning, preparation, launching and waging of an aggressive war is relevant and timely. In practice, there are difficulties in determining a specific form of aggression on the part of another state, and the clarification of this is important for the accuracy of the criminal-legal qualification. In addition, the definition of the terminology and forms of "crimes of aggression", their correlation with related concepts, will contribute to a more accurate criminal law assessment of the crime provided for in Art. 437 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Some scientists defend the position that the understanding of aggressive war as an armed type of aggression is outdated, attributing economic and informational war to it. In our opinion, it is appropriate to agree with the position of H.V. Oliinyk, who notes that "attributing informational or economic influence to the concept of aggression cannot be considered justified, since such actions are most likely components of an ideological struggle, the purpose of which is to weaken the enemy's forces and, respectively, to strengthen their own positions". We believe that this approach primarily contradicts the provisions of the UN Charter and UN resolutions, and also does not take into account that information war and economic war are separate political and legal phenomena, different from aggression. In particular, an economic war is a set of economic, legal, administrative and other actions directed against the economic system of another subject of production and economic activity, which can be both a prerequisite for a classic war, which involves the termination of economic relations between states, and an element of a hybrid war. Information war includes information influence, in particular, propaganda, and the active use of false, distorted information as a means of manipulating consciousness. Both economic and information warfare can also be elements of hybrid warfare. In turn, hybrid war is defined as a set of military, diplomatic and informational actions prepared in advance and quickly implemented by the state, aimed at achieving strategic goals, which includes the implementation of a complex of hybrid threats of various types, namely: traditional, non-standard, large-scale terrorism, as well as subversive actions, during which innovative technologies are used to counter the military power of the adversary, such as massive cyber attacks, subversive actions in the energy, economic spheres, etc. In view of the above, we believe that there are no grounds for attributing economic and information measures to aggression.
Keywords : aggressive war, criminal liability, armed conflict, criminal offense, criminal law, war, military conflict, war propaganda, planning, preparation, resolution, conduct, international law
References:
1. Cassese А. Affirmation of the Principles of International Law recognized by the Charter of the Nürnberg Tribunal. General Assembly resolution 95 (I) New York, 11 December 1946. URL: https://legal.un.org/avl/ha/ga_95-I/ga_95-I.html
2. Topolnytska M.I. Criteria for determining armed conflict in international legal acts. Scientific Bulletin of Uzhgorod National University. 2017. pp. 177-180. (in Ukrainian).
3. Malanchuk P. Introduction to international law according to Eickhurst. Kharkiv, 2000. 592 p. (in Ukrainian).
4. UN Charter. International document. URL: https://unic.un.org/aroundworld/unics/common/documents/publications/uncharter/UN%20Charter_Ukrainian.pdf (in Ukrainian).
5. Oliinyk H.V. Criminal liability for propaganda, planning, preparation, unleashing and waging an aggressive war: dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Lviv, 2022. 255 p. (in Ukrainian).