Brussels sees significant progress in creating special tribunal for crime of aggression against Ukraine
Participants of the 13th meeting of the Core Group on the Establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine have noted a significant progress in the issue of creating it.
Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Michael McGrath, European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law, and Consumer Protection, Alain Berset, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, and Iryna Mudra, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine, said this following the meeting in Brussels on Tuesday.
"Today, we have taken further steps towards establishing a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. There has to be a clear division between the crimes of war crimes and the crimes of aggression. War crimes can be prosecuted by the ICC [International Criminal Court], but the crime of aggression can only be prosecuted by a special tribunal. It is clear that crime of aggression is a leadership crime, so without the crime of aggression, there wouldn't be any war crimes either. Therefore, it's extremely important that there is also accountability for the crime of aggression," Kallas said.
According to her, "no one from Russia, no one from Russia's leadership is untouchable."
"That is the message that this tribunal sends. We had in this process involved, of course, Ukraine, External Action Service, European Commission, Council of Europe, also 37 states, and there is broad international support for this initiative, and that reflects also the shared commitment to accountability, which is important that nobody is really untouchable," Kallas emphasized.
She also noted that experts are concluding work on the core legal text for the tribunal.
"It is a breakthrough on the major principles, and of course, there's a lot of legal issues around such tribunal, but I think the lawyers have done an excellent work, and we can definitely take further steps with this," Kallas added.
European Commissioner McGrath, for his part, said the work on the project "is a testament to the sincere partnership with our friends in Ukraine, who we support in their pursuit of a just peace and, indeed, a European future."
"The special tribunal will play a crucial role in ensuring accountability for the Russian aggression against Ukraine. It will ensure that those responsible for this illegal war are held accountable while also seeking justice for the victims and reparations for the harm that has been caused. And I am pleased that today the core group has made very significant progress working towards a draft Schuman statute," he said.
The European Commissioner explained that "this core legal instrument will govern the functioning of the special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine."
"Once the special tribunal is up and running, Ukrainian authorities will be able to refer ongoing domestic investigations and prosecutions related to the crime of aggression to the prosecutor of the special tribunal. And in this process, Ukraine will also send relevant evidence to the tribunal, including the information gathered by the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression," he said.
McGrath recalled that the special tribunal will be set up within the institutional framework of the Council of Europe, "ensuring that criminal proceedings follow the highest procedural safeguards and applicable international human rights law."
To conclude, I want to thank once again all of the members of the core group for their work to date from the EU and far beyond, the Council of Europe and, of course, Ukraine, whose hard work and dedication has both defended and strengthened the international legal order, taking us one crucial step closer to justice for Ukraine and, indeed, for its people.
Secretary-General Bersen expressed confidence that the work on the Schuman statute will be completed in a short time.
"From the moment where the Council of Europe will receive a clear position and also after the reaction of Ukraine and the different member states, we will be ready to act and to negotiate really quickly," he said.