At a meeting in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Ukraine and its allies gave the go-ahead for the establishment of an international special tribunal for Russia's attack on Ukraine. Preparations for the establishment of the court have already been made by the Council of Europe, according to a joint statement released by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
On Friday, 30 foreign ministers, including new German Foreign Minister Johann Wadeful, arrived in Ukraine to sign the statement.
This decision can be interpreted as a signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who at the same time was marking the anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II with a military parade in Moscow and on that occasion again justified the attack on Ukraine.
The tribunal should try the "crime of aggression"
The tribunal will "ensure that the main perpetrators of the aggression against Ukraine are held accountable," said European Union foreign policy chief Kaia Kalas. She added that Russia's war in the information age is well documented and "there is no room for impunity."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joined in via video and said that it is Europe's moral duty to hold Russia accountable for the war.
The court should operate under the auspices of the Council of Europe, which was founded after World War II primarily to protect human rights. The tribunal's headquarters should be in The Hague, Netherlands, where several international legal organizations are already located. Judgments would be pronounced even in the absence of the accused. It is planned to hire 15 judges who would serve nine-year terms. The European Union has estimated the costs at approximately one billion euros.
The International Criminal Court is actually responsible for war crimes worldwide. In the case of Ukraine, it cannot be activated, as the prerequisite is that both parties to the conflict are signatories to the Rome Statute and the Additional Protocol.
The US has withdrawn from the circle of countries supporting the establishment of
Countries that support the establishment of the tribunal include Australia, Norway, Liechtenstein, the United Kingdom, Costa Rica and Guatemala. After Donald Trump's re-entry into the White House, the United States withdrew its support.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told DW that the US withdrawal of support for the establishment of the tribunal is "one of a series of concessions that the new US administration is making to Vladimir Putin." He added that not a single concession from Putin can be discerned yet. Sikorski hopes that Trump will now "draw the right conclusions" from this.
German Foreign Minister Wadeful said in his first talks with his American counterpart Marco Rubio that he would push for Washington to return to the circle of supporters of the tribunal. He stressed that "it is a good sign that a large part of the free world and those countries that support the rules-based order have now moved to create this institution."
What do the experts say?
Even before this political decision, experts had been discussing the possible scope and limitations of such a tribunal. “A special tribunal will not try Vladimir Putin in absentia while he is the president of Russia,” a European Union representative confirmed at a briefing in Brussels on April 10. The same applies to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Gleb Boguš from the Institute for German and International Criminal Law at the University of Cologne criticizes this very position, which actually confirms the immunity of the Russian state elite - as long as they are in office.
The decision to grant Putin immunity, Bogus argues, sends a dangerous message that could be interpreted as a call to ignore the arrest warrant for Putin issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
According to the plan for the tribunal, an indictment can be prepared based on the investigations against Putin, Lavrov, and Mishustin. However, until their immunity is lifted, no indictment can be filed, nor can an arrest warrant be issued.
Institutional framework prepared
The Council of Europe nevertheless believes that “the formula found for a special prosecutor's office will be sufficient to ensure accountability and combat impunity.” Its representatives emphasize that international law is developing despite obstacles and that “personal immunity is not a blank ticket to impunity.”
The plan for the establishment of a special tribunal, starting in 2023, was developed by a group of leading legal experts and presented in March 2025. It includes a treaty between Ukraine and the Council of Europe, a statute, as well as an agreement on the governance of the tribunal.
Kiev will submit the results of its investigations to the tribunal, which will also take into account evidence gathered by the International Center for the Investigation of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine (ICPA) in The Hague. The ICPA was established with the support of the European Commission and is made up of selected national prosecutors.
The Council of Europe was chosen as the institution under whose auspices the tribunal would operate. The United Nations was out of the question, as Russia, which has veto power in that body, would block such a project in the Security Council.
If a two-thirds majority in the Council of Europe is reached in favor of starting the court, ratification in many member states' parliaments will follow, which could take months. "You can't expect quick measures in a war," says Gleb Boguš. According to him, certain political currents in different countries could perceive the tribunal as an escalation of the conflict or as a step that makes negotiations more difficult. "That could significantly slow down the process or stop it completely," he concludes.
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