The international high-level conference "United for Justice" (U4J) was held in Lviv on March 3-5, 2023. Leading lawyers from around the world, experts in the field of international law, general prosecutors, representatives of the legislative and executive authorities and diplomats gathered at this "legal Ramstein" to join forces to bring to justice all those responsible for committing international crimes against Ukraine.

The conference was attended by the top leadership of the state: Volodymyr Zelenskyi, President of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine, Andriy Kostin, Prosecutor General, Vsevolod Knyazev, Chairman of the Supreme Court.

Among the foreign guests present were Egils Levits, President of Latvia, Wopke Hoekstra, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country, Merrick Garland, Attorney General of the United States, Beth Van Schaack, the United States ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice, Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice, Karim Khan, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Laura Kövesi, European Chief Prosecutor, Christos Giakoumopoulos, Director General of the Directorate for Human Rights and the Rule of Law of the Council of Europe, Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, the general prosecutors of Spain, England and Wales, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania.

Key achievements of the conference:

1. The prosecutors general of the countries that are members of the joint investigative team (JIT), which has been investigating war crimes in Ukraine since the spring of 2022, signed an addendum to the Agreement on the establishment of the JIT regarding the start of work on the Eurojust basis of the International Center for the Investigation of Crimes of Aggression of the Russian Federation. It is expected that the center will become operational already this summer in The Hague.

2. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the US Department of Justice and the countries that are members of the joint investigative team. From now on, the United States, together with the JIT, will work to bring to justice those guilty of war crimes in Ukraine.

3. In the near future, the Office of the International Criminal Court will start working in Ukraine. The relevant project of the Agreement with the ISS has already been approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

4. A Dialogue Group was created to coordinate national and international efforts to prosecute crimes committed in Ukraine as a result of Russian aggression.

Representatives of the Ukrainian Bar Association participated in panel discussions within the framework of the U4J conference. Ivan Horodyskyy, a member of the UBA Board, gave a report on the peculiarities of international cooperation in the field of freezing, recovery, confiscation of assets and compensation for damages. Speaking about the work to confiscate the assets of the aggressor country or persons associated with the initiators of Russian armed aggression, he emphasized the role of the non-state sector in this matter.

"These processes are politically sensitive — and this can be understood given the ongoing aggression. So lawyers, civil society, public organizations can supplement the government's activities. In situations where government working groups have to maintain silence, civil society can explain why, and can explain certain steps and actions," Ivan Horodyskyy emphasized.

Dmytro Gladky, Deputy Head of the UBA Branch in the Zaporizhzhia region, a region where hostilities are currently ongoing, spoke about the peculiarities of documenting international crimes by civil society and mass media. In his speech, he noted the benefits of the eyeWitness to Atrocities mobile application developed by the International Bar Association (IBA).

The application allows anyone to quickly and conveniently record war crimes, and the photos and videos obtained thanks to it are full-fledged evidence in accordance with the norms of national and international legislation and can be used by the investigation.

"This technology speeds up and makes it easier for law enforcement agencies and journalists to verify materials, because together with photos and videos, documents confirming that this material is authentic can be provided," noted Dmytro Gladky.

Summarizing the results of the "United for Justice" conference, Anna Ogrenchuk, President of the UBA, emphasized that these three days were "extremely rich, interesting and productive".

"Almost 600 participants, top speakers, more than 10 discussion panels... And all for the sake of one goal — bringing to justice all those guilty of international crimes in Ukraine. The world is united with Ukraine for the sake of justice. More than 70,000 crimes have been committed since the start of the full-scale invasion. The Russian Federation and its military-political leadership must be punished in all aspects: criminally, financially, politically," President of the Association summarized.