Courts and prosecutors respond to the war on 2 March 2022
A look back at the day international legal bodies moved on Ukraine while strikes hit Kharkiv and Chernihiv.
What did the international legal system do while Ukrainian cities were under fire? On 2 March 2022, courts and prosecutors took several steps, even as strikes continued on the ground.
The International Criminal Court opens its inquiry
On 2 March 2022, the International Criminal Court announced that it had opened a criminal investigation into war crimes committed in Ukraine since 2013, including during the invasion. The announcement followed one on 28 February 2022, when Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan said the court would conduct an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
The European Court of Human Rights acts
The European Court of Human Rights had already, on 1 March 2022, ordered an immediate end to the bombarding and targeting of civilian targets in Ukraine. On 2 March 2022 it took a further step, described at the time as unprecedented: it suspended all judicial proceedings against Ukraine pending before it.
Strikes on Kharkiv and Chernihiv
The legal moves came as the fighting continued. On 2 March 2022, Russian forces launched airstrikes on Kharkiv National University and a local police department in Kharkiv. In Chernihiv, two Kalibr cruise missiles struck a hospital after Russian troops were forced to retreat.
Calls for protest in Russia
On the same day, the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny called for more anti-war protests in Russia and around the world, as well as protests against President Vladimir Putin.
