The Committee on Legal Policy supports the establishment of an effective mechanism of international justice to hold the leadership of the aggressor state accountable
26 June 2025, 15:48
On May 14, 2025, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe launched the legal procedure for establishing a Special Tribunal to investigate the crime of aggression committed by the russian federation against Ukraine.
On June 25, 2025, in Strasbourg, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset signed an agreement on the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.
A total of 39 countries, the European Union, and the Council of Europe have joined the efforts to establish the Special Tribunal.
The establishment of a Special Tribunal to investigate the crime of aggression committed by the russian federation against Ukraine is an important step toward restoring international legal order. This tribunal will serve as a concrete legal instrument enabling the prosecution of the highest political and military leadership of the russian federation for the crime of aggression.
The head of state, the head of government, and the minister of foreign affairs will bear responsibility for these crimes — with no reference to personal immunities. This means they will not escape accountability, although justice will likely be served once they are no longer in office.
The tribunal for the russian leadership will be based in The Hague.
The possibility of conducting trials in absentia — in the absence of the accused — is of key importance. It will allow verdicts to be delivered even without the defendant's physical presence in court.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has the authority to investigate war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed in Ukraine. However, the ICC currently lacks jurisdiction over the crime of aggression in this case due to legal limitations. The Special Tribunal will fill this gap.
It is also important that the Special Tribunal will cooperate with the ICC. Both institutions will be able to conduct investigations in parallel without interfering with one another’s work.
Thus, Ukraine has not only initiated this process but has also become a driving force for new approaches to international criminal accountability.