Baltic ministers call for the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the crimes of Russian leaders
In a joint statement issued on Sunday evening, the ministers called on the EU to continue supporting the investigations already underway by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Ukraine itself and other countries, which “play a crucial role” in gathering evidence to identify and punish those responsible for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
“But our efforts must not be limited to that. Currently, there is no international court or tribunal that can hold Russia’s top political and military leaders accountable for crimes of aggression against Ukraine,” the statement said.
“A Special Criminal Tribunal for crimes of aggression against Ukraine must be established to close this legal gap,” the ministers assert.
“The main planners, instigators and facilitators of this murderous aggression cannot be brought to justice only because of the gap in international criminal jurisdiction,” say the diplomatic leaders of the Baltic states.
The call was issued on the eve of the EU Council of Foreign Ministers to be held in Luxembourg.
Separate studies
The ministerial statement also emphasizes that this new institute would not duplicate, but only supplement, the investigations of the International Criminal Court.
“Until the International Criminal Court conducts investigations on individuals for war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, the responsibility of the Special Tribunal would be crimes of aggression,” the ministers assert.
The letter points out that the deliberate attacks on Ukrainian residents’ homes, schools, even playgrounds, as well as other civilian infrastructure, are “just the latest episode of Russia’s unprovoked terror against the Ukrainian people.”
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis also states that aggression requires a “thorough trial”.
“The EU must ensure that the responsibility for Russia’s continued aggression and war crimes in Ukraine is at the center of the EU’s policies and actions,” the minister announced on Twitter.
Legal loophole
The International Criminal Court (ICC), which has been dealing with the most serious crimes for 20 years, launched an investigation into the crimes committed by Russia just a week after the invasion.
But he cannot deal with accusations of aggression because neither Ukraine nor Russia have ratified the Rome Statute.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called on the West to create a Special Tribunal that would allow all Russian “murderers and torturers” to be punished.
Kyiv claims to have prepared an international agreement on the establishment of the tribunal to the diplomats of the partner states, which should be signed by the governments, but Ukraine’s idea has not received wider support so far. Lithuania has been urging the international community to create such a tribunal, which would allow the leaders of Russia and Belarus to stand trial since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Lithuania also proposed the creation of such a special tribunal to the international community back in July.
The chief prosecutor of the ICC, Karim Khan, has stated that Ukraine can extradite Russian war crimes suspects to The Hague, despite the fact that Moscow is not a member.