Switzerland Backs Creation of Tribunal on Russian Crimes in Ukraine

Switzerland has officially proposed the establishment of a Special Tribunal to address Russia's aggression against Ukraine. This announcement was made on the website of the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where it is stated that the Head of the Directorate of International Public Law at the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed this support during a meeting of nations advocating for the tribunal in Berlin on November 16.

According to the press release, Switzerland firmly believes that Russia's aggression against Ukraine should not go unpunished. The statement also reminds that over the past months, 38 countries, including France, Germany, Norway, Guatemala, Japan, and Canada, have endorsed this initiative.

Representatives of the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the International Criminal Court (ICC) can prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine, but it lacks jurisdiction over the crime of aggression in this conflict. In addition to supporting the creation of a tribunal for Russia, Switzerland expresses its intention to review the Rome Statute to facilitate ICC jurisdiction in cases of "crime of aggression" in any context.

A coordinating group comprising 38 countries is considering the possibility of establishing an internationalized tribunal on the crime of aggression by Russia against Ukraine. The group is also exploring a tribunal model based on a United Nations General Assembly resolution. Such a tribunal could operate in accordance with Ukrainian law, although the position of several countries may hinder its creation through the UN.

Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba revealed that the EU presented its vision of a possible format for the tribunal to hold Russia accountable for the crime of aggression. The Ukrainian authorities acknowledged their inability to secure support for their proposed format based on a UN General Assembly resolution but agreed to a somewhat modified format of a "hybrid tribunal."

According to Kuleba, the EU's vision for a special tribunal to prosecute Russia's aggression against Ukraine was presented to him by the EU Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister also noted that they agreed to engage in additional discussions to assess this proposal from legal and political perspectives.