As Peace Talks Continue in Russia-Ukraine War, NYSBA Defends International Rule of Law
4.4.2025
As world leaders work toward a peaceful resolution to the Russia-Ukraine war, the New York State Bar Association is speaking out in defense of the rule of law and condemning the illegal war against Ukraine.
The New York State Bar Association’s Executive Committee approved a statement, which was proposed by the association’s International Section and Ukraine Task Force, outlining the legal principles that must be a part of any peaceful resolution to the war. The principles are:
- Facts matter. Truth is important. The rule of law cannot be applied fairly without determining what occurred.
- Accountability is essential. When international law is violated, those responsible must be held to account.
- Wars of aggression are an international crime.
- Conquest is illegal according to the United Nations Charter.
- Murder, rape and torture of civilians or prisoners of war and the destruction of civilian targets are crimes under international law.
“We built a strong network of lawyers who are urging their governments to increase economic sanctions against Russia,” said Domenick Napoletano, president of the association. “NYSBA was defending Ukraine from the start. It was the first international legal agency that urged the U.N. General Assembly to establish a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.”
A History of Support for Ukraine
In December 2021, the New York State Bar Association entered a partnership with the Ukrainian Bar Association that forged a strong alliance. Less than two months later, lawyers in the United States, Ukraine and Poland joined together in a Ukraine Task Force under the auspices of the New York State Bar Association.
The Ukraine Task Force has played a role in helping refugees fleeing the violence, collecting evidence of war crimes and arguing for an international tribunal to investigate Russian aggression. The association trained hundreds of lawyers in new skills to help refugees obtain temporary protected status in the United States. In the years since, the association has rallied lawyers across the United States and Europe to pressure the World Court to pursue a war crimes tribunal against Russian aggression.
You can read the full statement here.
