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A special tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine could be established as early as 2025. According to participants in the 13th meeting of the Core Group on the Establishment of the Special Tribunal, which took place in Brussels, significant progress has been made in drafting the founding charter, and the document could be signed as early as this spring, DW reports.
According to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression will be established within the framework of the Council of Europe, and this could happen as early as 2025.
“The establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression within the Council of Europe will allow our international partners, in particular Ukraine and the European Union, to fully utilize our experience and knowledge in the field of protecting human rights and the rule of law across the continent,” he said at a briefing.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaia Kallas has called on other countries to join the group to establish the Special Tribunal, which currently includes 41 countries, as well as the European Commission, the European External Action Service, and the Council of Europe itself.
Kallas also explained how the establishment of the Special Tribunal could affect potential negotiations that US President Donald Trump intends to hold with Russian ruler Vladimir Putin.
In her opinion, even if the US president achieves peace negotiations, work with the tribunal will need to continue "to bring the perpetrators to justice and for a just peace in Ukraine."
“We cannot allow the crime of aggression to go unpunished. The special tribunal is also part of the pressure on Putin and his regime to stop this war. It is a signal to other aggressors or those who intend to attack neighboring countries. That is why these signals are important, and who talks to whom, of course, everyone decides for themselves,” said the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs.
The Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression of the Russian Federation: What is Known
According to Ukraine's representative to the International Court of Justice, Anton Korynevych, the special tribunal could begin its work even before the end of the war. According to him, "the crime of aggression is an elite crime, it is a crime of those who can give orders to start and continue waging an aggressive war." "Accordingly, representatives of the highest political and military leadership of the Russian Federation should be held accountable for the crime of aggression," Korynevych said.
