– all war criminal must know that justice will scope him, and this besides applies to Russia," stated Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenski, who signed an agreement with the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset on Wednesday (25.06.2025) to establish a tribunal to justice Russian aggression crimes against Ukraine.
The Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg, France, has been working for respective months to establish this peculiar tribunal. On 9 May Ukraine and the European Union decided that specified a tribunal should be established under the auspices of the Council of Europe. Signing an agreement on this substance is simply a "decisive stage" on the way to its establishment," Alain Berset stressed. “Ukraine can number on the Council of Europe,” he added.
Putin on trial?
Zelenski admitted that it takes time to bring justice. "But justice must come, I am convinced," he added. "It takes stronger political and legal cooperation to guarantee that all war criminal is brought to justice, including Putin," he said.
The peculiar Court is to have its seat in The Hague, Netherlands. Its task will be to hold representatives of Russian authorities liable for deciding on the attack on Ukraine in February 2022. However, it is improbable that Russian leader Vladimir Putin will appear on the defendants' bench.
Although the defendants may besides be tried in absentia, the Heads of State or Government, as well as abroad ministers, are subject to legal immunity. This means that they cannot be convicted until they leave office or their immunity is waived.
Evidence and prosecution
However, according to the Council of Europe, the Court will have an crucial role, for example, to collect evidence and prepare charges. The next step will be for the countries afraid and the European Union to decide whether they want to participate in the work of the tribunal.
In the meantime, further preparations will continue. According to the Council of Europe, the aim is to let the Court to start its work in the coming months – at least in its first form.
The global Criminal Court (ICT) in The Hague is liable for the prosecution of war crimes committed during the war in Ukraine. In March 2023, he issued an arrest warrant against Putin in connection with charges of forced deportation and abduction of Ukrainian children from the areas occupied by Russia. However, the ICC cannot justice Moscow for "criminal aggression", that is, decisions on the attack on Ukraine. This legal gap is to be filled by a peculiar tribunal within the Council of Europe.
