REDRESS has published a new guide to law and practice on universal jurisdiction in England and Wales. Thirteen countries have launched investigations into crimes committed in Ukraine since 24 February 2022. This is one of a series of briefing papers aiming to build practitioners’ knowledge and capacity to fight impunity by bringing cases under the framework of universal jurisdiction.

JusticeInfo.net reports on 18 June that Germany is invoking universal jurisdiction to investigate several hundred war crimes in Ukraine, including political and military officials.

In the UK, the Metropolitan Police reported on 22 April that it had received ‘around 50’ referrals relating to alleged war crimes in Ukraine. The information is being gathered by the Met’s war crimes team, and may be shared with the International Criminal Court.

Other states investigating alleged war crimes in Ukraine include France, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Norway, Sweden, Slovakia, Switzerland, Spain, and Canada.