President Volodymyr Zelensky and Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset signed an agreement on June 25 to establish a Special Tribunal to investigate crimes of aggression against Ukraine.
The agreement was signed at the Council of Europe building in Strasbourg during Zelensky’s first visit to the organization.
Prior to this, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers officially authorized Berset to sign the agreement.
The future Special Tribunal will be able to investigate the highest state leadership, who are usually protected by personal immunities, although verdicts can only be issued after they leave office.
The tribunal will have international legal personality, not the status of a hybrid or national body. It is based on Article 8 bis of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, supplemented by the criteria of the crime of aggression from UN General Assembly Resolution 3314.
It is also planned that the tribunal will be able to issue verdicts even without the presence of the accused, including political and military leaders of Russia, and potentially Belarus and North Korea.
The Ukrainian leader called the establishment of the tribunal a “truly important step.”
“Today we are beginning the process of creating a tribunal to hold Russia accountable for its aggression against Ukraine. Every war criminal must know that justice will be served, and this applies to Russia as well. We are now seriously intensifying the legal war. There is still a long way ahead, but politically we have already made significant progress,” emphasized Volodymyr Zelensky immediately after the signing.
