LEGAL ASPECTS OF INTERPRETING THE UKRAINIAN-POLISH CONFRONTATION IN THE YEARS OF THE WORLD WAR II
LEGAL ASPECTS OF INTERPRETING THE UKRAINIAN-POLISH CONFRONTATION IN THE YEARS OF THE WORLD WAR II

Summary/Abstract: The research seeks to identify legal aspects of interpreting the Volynian events as genocidal acts. The emphasis is laid on the analysis of the specifics of different approaches to the definition of the concept of genocide suggested by UN General Assembly Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, by prominent Ukrainian, Polish and other foreign experts on the issues of ethnic conflicts, genocide and ethnic cleansing. The author reveals the importance of legal aspects of these crimes against humans, sheds light on the interpretation of the notions of "intent" or "motive" in the context of genocidal acts and argues that in the case study of the Ukrainian-Polish conflict it is extremely difficult to prove the presence of deliberate intent required for recognition of certain acts as genocide. The revealed legal aspects of the concept and peculiarities of its interpretation regarding the Ukrainian-Polish confrontation in the years of the World War II provide grounds to conclude that, after all, genocide is a crime under international customary law, and the prohibition of genocide is the norm of jus cogens, which is known to have the retroactive force in time.

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