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EU moves closer to special tribunal to prosecute Putin for aggression

A coalition of 38 countries, including all European Union member states, announced “major progress” in efforts to establish a special tribunal to prosecute Russia’s leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

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File Source: Euro

A coalition of 38 countries, including all European Union member states, announced “major progress” in efforts to establish a special tribunal to prosecute Russia’s leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

The initiative, which aims to hold President Vladimir Putin and other top officials accountable, is moving forward as legal experts finalize the tribunal’s legal statute. While the text remains undisclosed, officials hope it will be endorsed before the end of the year.  

“So we’re at a point where very substantial progress has been made,” said Michael McGrath, the European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, and the Rule of Law. “At this stage, we do not envisage any insurmountable obstacles.”  

The tribunal will be created under the framework of the Council of Europe, a leading human rights organization. Its Secretary General, Alain Berset, emphasized urgency, saying, “To wait is not an option. We must really act as fast as possible. And we will do the best way to try to finish the work this year.” He added, “We must be very ambitious. And I think if there’s a will, there is also the possibility to work to achieve this.”  

The push for a tribunal has been a key demand of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who insists that those responsible for launching the full-scale invasion nearly three years ago must face justice. Unlike war crimes or crimes against humanity, which hold individuals accountable for specific atrocities, the crime of aggression targets those who control and direct an aggressive war. Under the International Criminal Court’s definition, it includes “the planning, preparation, initiation or execution, by a person in a position effectively to exercise control over or to direct the political or military action of a State, of an act of aggression which, by its character, gravity and scale, constitutes a manifest violation of the Charter of the United Nations.”  

This definition makes Putin the most likely defendant in a future trial. However, prosecuting a sitting head of state remains a legal challenge, as international law grants leaders immunity, and a trial in absentia could be seen as lacking legitimacy. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has jurisdiction over crimes of aggression under the Kampala Amendments, but only for signatories of the Rome Statute. Russia, like the United States and China, is not a party to the treaty.  

In response, Kyiv and Brussels have sought to create an ad-hoc tribunal specifically empowered to prosecute Russia’s war on Ukraine. “Without the crime of aggression, there wouldn’t be any war crimes either,” said High Representative Kaja Kallas. “Therefore, it’s extremely important that there is also accountability for the crime of aggression. No one from Russia and no one from Russia’s leadership is untouchable.” She added, “It is also very important to send a signal that unpunished crimes only encourage further aggression.”  

Kallas stressed that the tribunal should be established before the war ends, reinforcing the message that Russia’s leadership will face justice. Iryna Mudra, deputy head of Zelensky’s office, hailed the legal progress as a “major breakthrough” and underscored the historical significance of the effort. “No other national should be a victim of another imperial conquest,” she said.  

The last time a crime of aggression was prosecuted was during the Nuremberg Trials after World War II, when the charge was referred to as “crimes against peace.” With growing international momentum, Ukraine and its allies are working to ensure that history does not repeat itself without accountability.

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