7. The Counter-Hegemonic Turn to ‘Entrepreneurial Justice’ in International Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions Relating to the Crimes Committed in Syria and Eastern Ukraine

Although the closure of the ad hoc tribunals and the inaction of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in the context of atrocities committed in contemporary armed conflicts might suggest an imminent decline of international criminal justice, or at least its multilateral component, this chapter suggests a contrary view. The wide ratification of the ICC Statute together with the domestic implementation of international criminal law and international humanitarian law, as well as the establishment of war crimes units pursuant to legislation at times allowing for universal jurisdiction can attest to the success of the complementarity system. In fact, the atrocities committed in the last decade during armed conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Ukraine are at the centre of domestic accountability efforts that can meaningfully contribute towards the dynamic development of international criminal law, or—in the words of the Presiding Judge in a Syrian case before the Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart, Germany—‘help the law, including international criminal law, achieve a breakthrough’ (OLG Stuttgart, 5—2 StE 5/17-4). This chapter will attempt an interpretation of the counter-hegemonic turn in international criminal law through the lens of the hegemony of the United Nations Security Council members, particularly Russia. Although Russia’s involvement in both Syrian and Ukrainian conflicts is significant, there has been little scholarly attention to date focusing on the Russian approaches towards the evolution of international criminal law in these contexts. The cognizance by the local populations that the UN-affiliated institutions cannot intervene in conflicts such as Syria or Eastern Ukraine, had an impact on the proliferation of grassroots documentation initiatives. These initiatives, broadly described as ‘Entrepreneurial Justice’ coordinated by civil society actors, continue to provide professional assistance to prosecution authorities which has paradoxically led to ‘justice ownership’ by the communities in Syria, Ukraine and beyond, thus pointing towards a breakthrough in the development of international criminal law.