Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Unveils Legal Design for Special Tribunal on Russian Aggression
Ukraine has taken a decisive step toward establishing a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against its sovereignty, as revealed by Anton Korynevych, Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ukraine’s representative at the International Court of Justice.
The Gaze reports on this with reference to Ukrinform.
Anton Korynevych, Ambassador-at-Large at Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ukraine’s agent at the International Court of Justice, disclosed key features of the proposed tribunal during a public discussion hosted by the Media Initiative for Human Rights. He also serves as coordinator of the Core Group, a coalition of legal experts from 40 countries tasked with drafting the tribunal’s founding documents.
According to Korynevych, the draft statutes and legal framework of the tribunal have now been finalized and submitted to the Council of Europe for further action. The tribunal would be established under the auspices of the Council, following Ukraine’s official request made on May 14 in a letter from Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha to Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset.
“The Special Tribunal will have jurisdiction exclusively over the crime of aggression against Ukraine,” Korynevych said, highlighting its singular legal focus.
Unlike existing international judicial mechanisms, the Special Tribunal would function as a fully independent international body. It will not be integrated into any national legal system, but will instead possess its own legal personality, enabling it to enter into treaties with states and international organizations.
Crucially, the tribunal will apply the legal definition of aggression as outlined in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It will operate based on international law as its primary legal source, resorting to national legislation, such as Ukraine’s, only when international law lacks sufficient provisions.
Korynevych emphasized that the tribunal’s staff, including judges, prosecutors, and legal officers, will be drawn primarily from foreign jurisdictions, ensuring broad international representation and legitimacy.
One of the tribunal’s most consequential features, he noted, will be the ability to conduct in absentia trials, allowing for indictments and verdicts against senior Russian political and military leaders even if they are not present in court.
The establishment of such a tribunal marks a significant step in the international legal community’s effort to ensure accountability for the Russian aggression, and Ukraine’s proposal could serve as a model for future mechanisms addressing crimes of this magnitude.
As The Gaze reported earlier, at a Europe Day summit in Lviv, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy reaffirmed the United Kingdom’s unwavering commitment to Ukraine, announcing nearly £25 million in new humanitarian aid and backing the establishment of a Special Tribunal to prosecute Russian aggression.