Framing the international crimes in Prosecutor’s statements on the situation in Ukraine
Authors: Moiseyenko Olena 
Published: December 2024

The statement of the problem. In the context of Russian aggression, the consequences of which are the dead, refugees, deported, and destroyed cities, there is a need to exercise jurisdiction over individuals responsible for the most serious international humanitarian crimes. Linguists faced the question of researching the integrative nature of the relationship between language and international law in bringing people to justice for committing the gravest crimes. Of particular interest in this aspect is the discourse of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, since the duties of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court include the investigation and prosecution of crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, namely genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.The purpose of the article. The article aims to investigate the rhetorical devices used to create a frame regarding international crimes in the statements of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court concerning the situation in Ukraine.The research methods. A frame analysis aimed at identifying rhetorical language devices in the statements of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court regarding the situation in Ukraine was used as a research method. Thirteen statements by Karim A. A. Khan K. S., Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, regarding the Situation in Ukraine, presented on the official website of the International Criminal Court, were used for the analysis.The main results of the research. The study has shown that the frame that is being built in the statements of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court regarding international crimes committed by Russian criminals during the period of Russian aggression against Ukraine, which began in 2014, has a multi-aspect nature. The study has identified the following aspects in the frame structure: the informational aspect (informing the international community about the general progress of the investigation of crimes and issuing the warrants of arrest against Russian criminals); the legal aspect (legal justification of the investigation of crimes and the issuance of arrest warrants against Russian criminals through reference to the Rome Statute); the communication aspect (prosecutor’s address to victims and witnesses of crimes, address to military personnel, dialogue with the international community); experiential aspect (reports about the experience of visiting crime scenes in Ukraine and communicating with crime victims). Rhetorical devices are used in the implementation of all aspects of the frame.Conclusions and perspectives. The study demonstrates the significant role of linguistic rhetorical devices in the prosecutor’s discourse. In his statements regarding the international humanitarian crimes committed by Russian aggressors in Ukraine and the issuance of arrest warrants against Russian high-ranking officials, Karim A. A. Khan KS, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, demonstrates a high level of rhetorical skills. In building a multi-aspect frame, the Prosecutor uses diverse rhetorical devices, including metaphor, metonymy, allusion, epithet, and rhetorical question. The rhetorical techniques used by the Prosecutor reinforce the essence of his statements: individuals who bear criminal responsibility for committing the atrocity crimes in Ukraine should be brought to justice.A further study of the prosecutor’s discourse in the trial of the International Criminal Court and the study of the prosecutor’s discourse based on the material of the situations in other regions of the world in a comparative perspective is considered promising since the International Criminal Court has experience in prosecuting war criminals.