Switzerland joins agreement to create Special Tribunal – Sybiha
Switzerland notified the Council of Europe of its readiness to join the Enlarged Partial Agreement on the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiha has said.
"I am grateful to @ignaziocassis and our Swiss partners for this principled and strong step.Switzerland has a special role in protecting the principles and norms of international law — and its decision has a great significance for the entire international community. Switzerland became the 35th state to notify the Council of Europe of its intention to join. On May 14–15 in Chisinau, the Council of Europe is expected to take the next step toward launching the Special Tribunal and conclude an agreement on its steering committee," he said.
As emphasized by the Office of the President, after the completion of preparatory stages, the tribunal should move to full-scale work including investigations, indictments, court proceedings, and sentencing regarding the crime of aggression. The first phase, known as the Skeleton Tribunal, involves a transitional stage in The Hague where a framework for the institution is formed by selecting 15 judges, appointing a registrar, and creating administrative infrastructure. During this phase, the tribunal does not yet administer justice but completes preparations for a full launch.
The second phase involves the full-fledged functioning of the Special Tribunal where the institution moves to exercise its jurisdiction once all key bodies, permanent premises, and security infrastructure are established. Ukraine expects the Special Tribunal to be fully operational as early as next year. The Council of the EU adopted a decision allowing the European Union to become a founding member of the Special Tribunal for investigating the crime of aggression against Ukraine. This mechanism marks the first instance since the Nuremberg trials where states work in a coordinated manner on accountability for the crime of aggression.
