International coalition supports the special court for the crime of aggression against Ukraine – lawyer

An international coalition of states on Friday officially approved the establishment of the special court for the crime of aggression against Ukraine within the Council of Europe.

The confirmation took place during a high -ranking event in LVIV, in which the Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the European Commissioner Michael McGrath, the high representative Kaja Kallas and representatives of the Council of Europe and over 40 nations of the nations took part.

The announcement, which summarizes with the European Day and the third anniversary of the full invasion of Russia in Ukraine, marks the highlight of over two years of coordinated legal efforts. The LVIV declaration, which was unanimously adopted by participating states, commits the coalition to support the creation of the tribunal. The tribunal will be responsible for examining and pursuing Russian political and military leaders who bear the main responsibility for the crime of aggression.

This decision is made in the light of the Russia Ukraine War, in which Russia launched an unprofitable invasion of Ukraine in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and expanded a conflict that began in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. The war has caused thousands of civilian deaths, massive displacements and widespread destruction of the infrastructure. Despite the repeated international conviction, the Russian Federation has retained its military presence and operations in the Ukrainian territory.

The International Criminal Court has opened up investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity that were committed during the conflict, but there is no lack of responsible for aggression crimes in cases in which non -state parties such as Russia are involved. The proposed special court should fix this gap in accountability. The Ukrainian authorities can forward ongoing national investigations to aggression to the tribunal public prosecutor. The evidence raised by the International Center for the Persecution of Aggression Breaking near Euro Just are also transferred to law enforcement. The founding of the tribunal will be based on an agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, confirmed the support of the EU: “While we are celebrating the European Day, we get closer to justice for people in Ukraine. We are fully behind the special tribunal. … People in Ukraine deserve justice and we will be in our power to ensure that you get it.”

Since March 2022, the EU has supported a joint investigation team with Ukraine and six EU member states since March 2022. The core group, a group of high -ranking legal experts, held 14 technical meetings to create the legal basis for the tribunal. In February 2023, Euro Just started an international database for international crimes in which thousands of case files were preserved that have now been used by the Tribunal. The tribunal is a necessary step to conclude existing gaps in international criminal law and ensure that Russia's leadership points for the initiation of an aggression war are held accountable to the peremptorist norms of international law.