{"id":1252029,"date":"2025-06-25T23:02:24","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T20:02:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/historic-day-ukraine-and-the-council-of-europe-signed-an-agreement-to-establish-a-special-tribunal-against-russia\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T23:02:24","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T20:02:24","slug":"historic-day-ukraine-and-the-council-of-europe-signed-an-agreement-to-establish-a-special-tribunal-against-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/historic-day-ukraine-and-the-council-of-europe-signed-an-agreement-to-establish-a-special-tribunal-against-russia\/","title":{"rendered":"Historic day: Ukraine and the Council of Europe signed an agreement to establish a Special Tribunal against Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, June 25, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset signed a historic agreement on the establishment of a Special International Tribunal to investigate the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This was reported by the press service<\/a> of the Council of Europe.<\/p>\n

It is worth emphasizing that this marks the official start of a mechanism aimed at legally prosecuting the highest military-political leadership of the Russian Federation for the decision to invade Ukraine.<\/p>\n

The Special Tribunal is a separate international judicial body that focuses exclusively on the crime of aggression \u2013 the decision to start a war. This is a violation of the UN Charter, and it opened the door to other war crimes: the killing of civilians, deportations, torture, the shelling of peaceful cities.<\/p>\n

“This is an extremely important step. We are beginning the process of creating a tribunal that will become an instrument of justice for everyone who has suffered from Russian aggression. Justice takes time, but it will come,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.<\/p>\n

He added that international institutions, including the ICC, do not have the authority to prosecute Russia specifically for the crime of aggression. The new tribunal is designed to fill this legal gap.<\/p>\n

“There is still a long way to go politically. We have already made great progress, and I am grateful to the Committee of Ministers, grateful to the Council of Europe and everyone who has shown leadership. Justice takes time, but it must happen,” the President of Ukraine emphasized.<\/p>\n

Zelensky also expressed confidence that the agreement on the Special Tribunal provides real chances to condemn crimes of aggression.<\/p>\n

“Other institutions, even international ones, do not have the tools to do this. And we need to show clearly that aggression will be punished. And we must do this together throughout Europe. Glory to Ukraine!” \u2014 the president concluded.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine noted<\/a> that the International Criminal Court, which is already considering the crimes of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, has jurisdiction to investigate both war crimes and crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine<\/strong> .<\/p>\n

However, the court does not have full jurisdiction to prosecute the crime of aggression. This crime concerns the decision to use armed force against another state, in violation of the UN Charter. The Special Tribunal must remedy this, as it is mandated to prosecute high-ranking officials for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.<\/p>\n

People’s Deputy Maria Mezentseva, who participated in developing the concept of the tribunal, explained<\/a> the key features:<\/p>\n