Latest news with #SpecialTribunalfortheCrimeofAggressionagainstUkraine
Straits Times
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
UK's Lammy to join international meeting in Lviv on support for Ukraine
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy attends an interview on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers meeting in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada March 14, 2025. SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo UK's Lammy to join international meeting in Lviv on support for Ukraine LONDON - British foreign minister David Lammy will on Friday meet with his Ukrainian counterpart and 17 other foreign ministers in Lviv, western Ukraine, to confirm their support for the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. Britain's foreign office said in a statement the meeting would also be used to discuss how to secure peace in Ukraine. "We stand for a just and lasting peace, for a secure Europe, and for accountability and justice," Lammy said in the statement. The tribunal will be set up by the Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights watchdog that was formed after World War Two to uphold rights and the rule of law. The meeting falls on the same day that Russian President Vladimir Putin hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders for a military parade on Red Square to mark the 80th anniversary of the World War Two defeat of Nazi Germany. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump to abandon Russia war crimes prosecution
The United States has signalled it could leave an international effort to prosecute Russia for invading Ukraine, The Telegraph can reveal. US envoys refused to label Russia as an 'aggressor' at a meeting of a 'Core Group' of countries preparing a Nuremberg-style tribunal to try Vladimir Putin for his war crimes, according to Western officials. Washington is similarly refusing to co-sponsor a United Nations statement that supports Ukraine's territorial integrity and demands Moscow to withdraw its forces from the war-torn nation. Mr Trump's administration has also refused to sign off on a planned G7 statement calling Russia the 'aggressor' in the war with Ukraine to mark the third anniversary of the conflict on Monday. The US president has blamed Ukraine for starting the war, branded Volodymyr Zelensky a 'dictator' and pushed for Russia to be invited back to the alliance of industrialised nations. European officials fear Mr Trump's flattery of Putin could lead to the Russian despot being let off the hook for his invasion as part of any peace settlement. This stance has put preparations for the final meeting of the 'Core Group' next month in doubt. The group is leading a 40-nation coalition to form a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, modelled on the response to Nazi war crimes after the Second World War. It would involve the US and other countries joining Ukraine to grant jurisdiction to a dedicated criminal tribunal to investigate both the perpetrators of the crime of aggression and those complicit in that crime. The crime of aggression cannot be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague. 'Unless they acknowledge it's an aggression, they can't participate,' an official said of US opposition to the labelling of Russia as an aggressor. Losing Washington' s backing for the tribunal will be a major blow to the project's international reputation and standing. 'This is quite a drastic shift,' a European diplomat told The Telegraph. 'Rewriting history and pretending that Russia wasn't the one who started this war is something that we simply cannot and will not agree to.' The US has not yet officially withdrawn from the scheme and is expected to attend its next meeting next month in Strasbourg, France. A diplomatic note seen by The Telegraph revealed that European officials were 'shocked' at US claims at a series of international meetings that Russia should be invited back into the 'civilised world'. European capitals are now holding talks over a possible collapse of the special tribunal if the US does walk away as feared. The latest US position marks a significant shift in policy between Joe Biden and Mr Trump. The former president had branded Putin a 'war criminal' and signed off on a series of international statements which described Russia as the aggressor state. Washington is now pushing for the almost three-year war to be called the 'Ukraine conflict' in discussions with international allies. A State Department readout of the meeting between Marco Rubio, the US state secretary, and Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, twice described the war as 'the conflict in Ukraine'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
The Hill
05-02-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
A special tribunal to prosecute Russian leaders over Ukraine wins backing from European institutions
BRUSSELS (AP) — A project to establish a court to prosecute the Russian leaders who orchestrated the invasion of Ukraine took a step forward Wednesday, with an announcement from a group of international organizations, including the European Union and the Council of Europe, working together with Ukraine. Legal experts agreed on the framework for the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, which will allow for the prosecution of senior Russian officials for planning and coordinating the full-scale invasion in 2022. 'When Russia chose to roll its tanks over Ukraine's borders, breaking the UN Charter, it committed one of the gravest violations: the Crime of Aggression. Now, justice is coming,' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement. The move to create a special tribunal aims to fill a void created by limitations on the International Criminal Court. While The Hague-based court can go after Russian nationals for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, it cannot prosecute Russians for orchestrating the invasion itself. The 2002 Rome Statute which created the court does include the crime of aggression but only for countries who have joined the court. The Russian Federation is not a member state. 'The accountability gap for the crime of aggression must be closed right now because the lid of Pandora's Box is blown off completely and our world is plunged into chaos and darkness,' Ukraine's deputy minister of justice Iryna Mudra told reporters after the announcement was made. Ukraine has been pushing for the creation of a special tribunal since early in the conflict. 'If we want true justice, we should not look for excuses and should not refer to the shortcomings of the current international law but make bold decisions that will correct those shortcomings that unfortunately exist in international law,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a visit to the Netherlands in 2023. There are still significant issues to be worked out, including how the tribunal will be paid for and where it will be located. The Netherlands, home to the ICC, the International Court of Justice and other judicial organizations, has offered to host the tribunal. It is already home to the International Center for Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression, which supports evidence-gathering for a future tribunal and is overseen by the European Union's judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust. The Council of Europe-backed register of damages, which allows Ukrainian victims of war to catalog the financial harm they have suffered, is also based in the Netherlands. The tribunal will be established under Ukrainian law, which leaves the future court unable to prosecute the so-called troika, consisting of a country's head of state, head of government and foreign affairs minister. International law grants that trio immunity while they are in office. The ICC, which isn't limited by immunity, has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and several military leaders for war crimes. The Council of Europe aims to get the tribunal up and running by the end of the year.
Washington Post
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
A special tribunal to prosecute Russian leaders over Ukraine wins backing from European institutions
BRUSSELS — A project to establish a court to prosecute the Russian leaders who orchestrated the invasion of Ukraine took a step forward Wednesday, with an announcement from a group of international organizations, including the European Union and the Council of Europe, working together with Ukraine. Legal experts agreed on the framework for the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, which will allow for the prosecution of senior Russian officials for planning and coordinating the full-scale invasion in 2022.
The Independent
05-02-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
A special tribunal to prosecute Russian leaders over Ukraine wins backing from European institutions
A project to establish a court to prosecute the Russian leaders who orchestrated the invasion of Ukraine took a step forward Wednesday, with an announcement from a group of international organizations, including the European Union and the Council of Europe, working together with Ukraine. Legal experts agreed on the framework for the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, which will allow for the prosecution of senior Russian officials for planning and coordinating the full-scale invasion in 2022. 'When Russia chose to roll its tanks over Ukraine's borders, breaking the UN Charter, it committed one of the gravest violations: the Crime of Aggression. Now, justice is coming,' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement. The move to create a special tribunal aims to fill a void created by limitations on the International Criminal Court. While The Hague-based court can go after Russian nationals for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, it cannot prosecute Russians for orchestrating the invasion itself. The 2002 Rome Statute which created the court does include the crime of aggression but only for countries who have joined the court. The Russian Federation is not a member state. 'The accountability gap for the crime of aggression must be closed right now because the lid of Pandora's Box is blown off completely and our world is plunged into chaos and darkness,' Ukraine's deputy minister of justice Iryna Mudra told reporters after the announcement was made. Ukraine has been pushing for the creation of a special tribunal since early in the conflict. 'If we want true justice, we should not look for excuses and should not refer to the shortcomings of the current international law but make bold decisions that will correct those shortcomings that unfortunately exist in international law,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a visit to the Netherlands in 2023. There are still significant issues to be worked out, including how the tribunal will be paid for and where it will be located. The Netherlands, home to the ICC, the International Court of Justice and other judicial organizations, has offered to host the tribunal. It is already home to the International Center for Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression, which supports evidence-gathering for a future tribunal and is overseen by the European Union's judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust. The Council of Europe-backed register of damages, which allows Ukrainian victims of war to catalog the financial harm they have suffered, is also based in the Netherlands. The tribunal will be established under Ukrainian law, which leaves the future court unable to prosecute the so-called troika, consisting of a country's head of state, head of government and foreign affairs minister. International law grants that trio immunity while they are in office. The ICC, which isn't limited by immunity, has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and several military leaders for war crimes. The Council of Europe aims to get the tribunal up and running by the end of the year. ___ Quell reported from The Hague, Netherlands.
