In the circumstances of the deployment of Russian armed forces into Ukraine, the European Law Institute (ELI), an entirely independent non-profit organisation established to provide practical guidance in relation to European legal development, and which has Fellows in Ukraine and Russia, wishes:

(a) to summarise three fundamental legal principles:

(1) All States must respect the fundamental obligations, values, principles and freedoms set out in the Charter of the United Nations, the Statute of the Council of Europe, the European Convention of Human Rights, and other general principles of public international law.

(2) The use of armed forces by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations, is a crime under international law, which was clearly defined in the Nuremberg Principles of 1945 and has been widely reflected in numerous charters and statutes including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

(3) Individual persons who commit or participate in such a crime are responsible under international law for their actions.

(b) to reiterate its unwavering support for Ukraine and its people.

As approved by the ELI Council.