Thirty-six countries, mainly from Europe, have signed up to a special tribunal to prosecute Russian President Vladimir Putin for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, which will be headquartered in the Dutch city of The Hague.
The joint pledge was formalised on Friday during the annual meeting of foreign affairs ministers of the Council of Europe, a human rights organisation that has taken the lead in addressing the jurisdictional gap left by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Ministers endorsed a resolution laying down the structure and functions of the management committee that will oversee the tribunal. Among its tasks, the committee will approve the annual budget, adopt internal rules and elect judges and prosecutors. The countries commit to respecting the independence of the judicial proceedings.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, who took part in the ceremony, hailed the moment as “the point of no return” in the years-long search for accountability.
“The Special Tribunal becomes a legal reality. Very few believed this day would come. But it did,” Sybiha said on social media, evoking the spirit of the precedent-setting Nuremberg trials that brought to trial the surviving leaders of Nazi Germany.
“Putin always wanted to go down in history. And this tribunal will help him achieve this. He will go down in history. As a criminal,” he added.
Friday’s resolution was signed by Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
Australia and Costa Rica were the only non-European signatories.
The European Union also endorsed the initiative, even if four of its member states, Bulgaria, Hungary, Malta and Slovakia, did not add their names to Friday’s resolution.
The list remains open for other countries, European and otherwise, to join.
Alain Berset, the Council of Europe’s secretary general, urged participants to complete their legislative procedures and allocate the necessary funding to ensure the tribunal can start working as soon as possible. The EU has already committed €10 million.
The lack of US engagement under President Donald Trump has previously raised concerns about budgetary shortfalls. Trump’s push for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia has also cast doubt over the tribunal’s core purpose: a controversial 28-point draft last year floated the idea of blanket amnesty for war crimes.
“The time for Russia to be held to account for its aggression is fast approaching. The path ahead of us is one of justice, and justice must prevail,” Berset said at the meeting.
The tribunal will be complemented by the Register of Damages, which is collecting claims submitted by victims of Russia’s aggression, and the International Claims Commission, which will review those claims and decide the appropriate payment.
Bringing Putin to trial
Establishing a special tribunal has been a pressing priority for Ukraine and its allies since the Kremlin ordered the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The initiative was deemed necessary because the ICC can prosecute the crime of aggression only when it is attributed to a state party. Russia is not a signatory to the Rome Statute and can use its veto at the UN Security Council to block any changes.
Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, which apply to individuals who commit the atrocities, the crime of aggression is a leadership crime that falls on the people who are ultimately in charge of controlling the aggressor state.
In practice, this covers the so-called “troika” – the president, the prime minister and the foreign minister – together with high-ranking military commanders who have supervised the assault on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Putin, the mastermind behind the invasion and the prime promoter of its revisionist narrative, is the most wanted target. But he is unlikely to be judged any time soon.
Crucially, the “troika” will remain immune to trials in absentia – meaning without the defendant’s physical presence – as long as they remain in office. The prosecutor might still file an indictment against Putin and his foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, but the chamber will keep the proceedings suspended until the accused leave their posts.
By contrast, trials in absentia can be conducted against those outside the troika while they are still in office, such as Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff of the Russian Armed Forces; Sergey Kobylash, the commander of the Russian Air Force; and Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of the Security Council. Those who are sentenced in this manner will have the right to a re-trial if they ever appear in person.
Top-ranking officers from Belarus and North Korea, two countries that have directly assisted in Russia’s war, might also be prosecuted. Defendants are expected to be judged in groups, rather than one by one, except for Putin.
The tribunal will have the power to impose strong penalties on those found guilty, including life imprisonment, confiscation of personal properties and monetary fines, which will be channelled into the compensation fund for victims.
As most, if not all, trials will be carried out in absentia, the budget will focus on IT tools and save the expenses related to building and maintaining prisons. The exact amount will be decided between the Council of Europe and the Dutch government.
“There will be no just and lasting peace in Ukraine without accountability for Russia and the perpetrators of the horrific crimes committed against the people of Ukraine,” High Representative Kaja Kallas said in a statement.
“Russia chose to attack and invade a sovereign country, kill its people, deport Ukrainian children and steal Ukrainian land. Russia must face justice and pay for what it has done.”
This article has been updated.