European Commission backs tribunal for prosecuting russian war crimes

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated that russia has to be held accountable for the crimes committed in Ukraine and announced the creation of the International Center for the Prosecution of Crimes of Aggression of russia against Ukraine.

The statement on the website of the European Commission reads this, the "European Pravda" media writes.

The United for Justice conference is being held in Lviv, where mechanisms for holding russia accountable for crimes in Ukraine are being discussed.

"russia must be held accountable for these horrific crimes. putin must be held accountable. We must do everything in our power to bring the perpetrators to justice. The European Union will continue to work with our partners to ensure that russia pays," – von der Leyen said.

The head of the European Commission assured that the EU supports the establishment of a special tribunal to investigate war crimes committed by russia.

" The European Union is supportive of the role of the International Criminal Court. We also believe that there needs to be a dedicated tribunal to prosecute Russia's crime of aggression. And I am proud that, at this conference, as a first step, you will sign the agreement to set up the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression in The Hague, " the statement reads.

It is also reported that an updated agreement on the creation of the Eurojust Joint Investigative Group will be signed at the conference to facilitate the creation of the International Center for the Prosecution of Crimes of Aggression (ICPA) within its structure.

A Joint Investigation Team has been set up with the support of Eurojust to collect evidence and investigate core international crimes committed in Ukraine. The Joint Investigation Team comprises the International Criminal Court, Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, and Romania.

The Eurojust Regulation was amended to give the Agency the legal ability to store and analyze evidence related to major international crimes securely. The judicial database was launched in February 2023.

For reference:

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is empowered to prosecute the most serious international crimes, such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

It is also authorized to prosecute the crime of aggression, but only concerning those countries that have recognized its jurisdiction over that crime. The crime of aggression is a crime committed by the highest political and military leadership.

Given that russia does not recognize the ICC's jurisdiction, the ICC cannot exercise this competence in the context of russia's war against Ukraine.

To fill this legal gap, in November 2022, the European Commission presented various options to member states to ensure that russians were held accountable for atrocities committed in Ukraine.

It was reported earlier that Ukraine, together with its allies and partners, developed three models for the establishment and work of a special tribunal regarding the crime of russian aggression, among which there is the creation of a special tribunal based on Ukraine's agreement with the UN with the adoption of a corresponding resolution of the UN General Assembly.