Many ask themselves whether Russia will always be tried for its crimes in Ukraine. Plans for a peculiar tribunal were created from 2023, in March 2025 they were finalized, but politically nothing has yet been decided. The details of the tribunal to be established in the Council of Europe are inactive secret. It is certain that Vladimir Putin cannot be prosecuted while he is president. The acting Heads of State shall be entitled to immunity. Nevertheless, unofficially, the "Tribunale Putin" is already mentioned, as in global jurisprudence, the highest state leadership is liable for aggression against another country.
It's possible to investigate, but not to press charges
– A peculiar tribunal can already analyse the leaders of Russia and possibly Belarus," says Jörg Polakiewicz, Head of the Legal Advisory and global Law Department at the General Secretariat of the Council of Europe. However, the Council of Europe does not have the same powers as the UN safety Council, which can waive the immunity of the 3 highest officials of a given country – the President, Prime Minister and abroad Minister.
“The peculiar Court will not justice Vladimir Putin in absentia as long as he is president of Russia”, confirmed a typical of the Council of Europe.
– This is absurd, of course – he criticises Oleksandra Matwijczuk. The head of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization Center for civilian Liberty expects a peculiar tribunal to punish those liable for atrocities. She and her associates have been gathering evidence for eleven years.
The plan to establish a tribunal is to prepare an indictment on the basis of investigations against Putin, Lavrow and Miszustin, as the origin acquainted with these plans explains. However, until immunity is lifted, no arrest warrant or charges can be issued.
Who can be investigated?
According to a origin of DW that wanted to stay anonymous, the investigation besides included over 20 Russian officials on the list drawn up by Kiev. The Court will focus on elder political and military officials liable for planning, preparing and carrying out aggression against Ukraine.
Oleksandra Matwijczuk recalls that the Nuremberg trials against the main Nazi war criminals were not limited to the highest leadership of Nazi Germany. “It was clear that not only 3 people were liable for the crimes,” he says. As for Putin's Tribune, the ellipse of decision-makers in Russia has not yet been established.
Gleb Bogush of the Institute of global Peace and safety Law at the University of Cologne believes that it can be assumed that it is about 20 people. “The court should explain this,” he stresses. Those who are innocent will be released. However, there must be a process in which everyone can make a message before an independent court, as the expert adds.
Charges of experts against the planned tribunal
Gleb Bogush criticizes the originators of a peculiar tribunal that they admit Putin's privileges and thus confirm his own thesis that he is untouchable. In his opinion, it would be better to leave the issue of immunity to the judiciary. The expert criticises the Council of Europe for not recognizing Putin as an illegal president. The decision to grant him immunity is simply a dangerous signal that can be interpreted as an invitation to ignore the orders of the global Criminal Court (ICC) which issued Putin's arrest warrant in March 2023.
However, the Council of Europe assumes that "the expression found for a peculiar tribunal in this substance will be adequate to guarantee accountability and prevent impunity." Despite the obstacles, global law continues to develop, as stressed by a typical of the Council of Europe in a discussion with the DW. individual immunity is in no case a "license for impunity".
The question remains what period will be considered by the tribunal. “The war did not begin in February 2022, but in February 2014,” notes Oleksandra Matwijczuk, who fears that the tribunal would ignore the annexation of Crimea and the war in the east of Ukraine. "This would have long-term legal consequences for those who suffered 8 years before 2022, as well as for the restoration of global law and the return of occupied territories to Ukraine," he emphasised.
Technical preparations for the creation of the tribunal completed
A group of legal experts has been working on the establishment of a peculiar tribunal since 2023. The plan presented in March 2025 includes a treaty between Ukraine and the Council of Europe, a statute and an agreement on the management of the tribunal.
It was decided to find him in The Hague with approval from the Netherlands, as the DW origin stated. Kiev is to study the results of its investigations to the tribunal. Evidence collected by the global Centre for the Investigation of Aggression Crimes against Ukraine (ICPA) will besides be taken into account. ICPA was besides established in The Hague with the support of the European Commission and consists of selected national prosecutors.
The Court was set up at the Council of Europe due to the fact that the United Nations was not an option. Finally, Russia would block specified a task on the safety Council. The global Criminal Court was besides not appropriate due to the fact that its jurisdiction extends only to the States which are parties to the Rome Statute (Roman Statute of the global Criminal Court, or an act of global law of 1998, which aims to prevent impunity from war criminals – ed.). And Russia is not 1 of them.
Although any observers undermine the effectiveness of the Council of Europe, Russia has been excluded from this organization due to the invasion of Ukraine. "But the fact that the victim and the aggressor were members of the Council of Europe at the beginning of the aggression is very crucial for the legitimacy of this organization," emphasises Jörg Polakiewicz.
The next steps belong to politicians
The Court plan must now be examined by politicians. This marks the beginning of a period of uncertainty, due to the fact that everything indicates that the US under president Donald Trump will retreat and will not support the tribunal either politically or financially. Hungary besides rejects the tribunal. It is inactive unclear how Azerbaijan, Turkey and Serbia will react, which keep close relations with Russia.
The final decision requires a two-thirds majority in the Council of Europe. associate States' parliaments would then gotta ratify the decision, which could take months. “We should not anticipate fast action during war,” says Gleb Bogush. Furthermore, according to the expert, any political camps in different countries could view the tribunal as an escalation of conflict or a step that would impede negotiations. “This can hold this process considerably if not bury it,” warns the expert.
