LVIV (ANP) – On Friday afternoon, the statutes for an independent international tribunal were officially ratified in Lviv, Ukraine, with signatures from Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andri Sybiha.
Numerous EU foreign ministers attended the event, including representatives from Germany and France, although the Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Caspar Veldkamp was absent. The Netherlands has been a strong proponent of the tribunal’s establishment and aims to host it in The Hague.
The tribunal is designed to prosecute those responsible for Russian aggression, particularly the individuals who ordered the invasion of Ukraine and directed military operations. According to an EU source, “We are focusing on the military and political leaders who instigated the invasion, not on the individual war crimes committed by soldiers.”
A list of suspects includes about twenty to thirty Russian officials, but the trial against the primary group cannot commence while they remain in office. “Immunity temporarily delays proceedings while the individual is in office,” the source clarified.
The tribunal has the authority to impose sentences of up to thirty years in prison, or even life imprisonment if deemed appropriate due to the severity of the crime. Furthermore, it can confiscate assets and levy fines, with the proceeds allocated to a compensation fund for Ukrainian victims.
The tribunal’s focus will be on investigating Russian aggression, staffed by international judges and prosecutors. The preliminary investigations and evidence gathering are being conducted by the International Centre for the Prosecution of Aggression (ICPA) based in The Hague, which has already gathered substantial evidence.
Trials may proceed in the absence of the defendants, but if a suspect later appears, they are entitled to a retrial.
The tribunal is expected to commence operations next year.
(May 9, 2025)
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