Our Association wrote already, the Statement, calling for the creation of a special tribunal for the punishment of the crime of aggression against Ukraine, which was published on January 6 by the former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown with support of some opinion makers including professor Philippe Sands. Statement authors called for the UK government to support a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Russia’s Aggression, being committed by invaders in Ukraine.
Later, on January 8, the special statement was published by UK Ministry of Justice that announced meeting at Lancaster House will be hosted by Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab and the Minister of Justice and Security of the Netherlands, Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius. On this meeting Justice Ministers from around the world will convene in London in March to support the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigating Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine.
The group will hear from Prosecutor of the ICC, Karim Khan KC, on the Court’s work and the role of the international community in supporting its investigations. The meeting, UK Ministry stresses, comes as Russia steps up its campaign of terror against Ukraine, striking at crucial energy infrastructure and plunging people into the dark and freezing cold of winter. In de-occupied areas of Ukraine, prosecutors continue to gather evidence of Russian invaders’ atrocities and sexual violence, adds the UK Ministry.
Also new statement points that almost a year on from the illegal invasion, the international community must give its strongest backing to the ICC so war criminals to be held to account for the atrocities we’re witnessing. Ministers will also discuss how to help victims and witnesses provide testimonies without causing them further distress, the UK officials stress, reminding that it follows action taken by the UK to galvanise allies to refer aggressor’s atrocities in Ukraine to the ICC.
The UK Government also continues to support Ukraine’s domestic investigations. Along with the US and the EU, the UK established the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group to support investigations and has funded a training programme for Ukrainian judges set to conduct trials for war crimes, informs the UK Ministry.
UK statement also reminds that in 2022, the Netherlands dispatched two forensic investigation teams to collect evidence that can be used in investigations into crimes committed in Ukraine. The teams operated under the banner of the ICC and two additional missions are envisaged for 2023.
The Netherlands has also made a voluntary financial contribution of €2 million to the Trust Fund of the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC and has seconded personnel from the National Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Netherlands to the ICC.
As Association’s expert professor Borys Babin commented regarding this issue, including role of such procedures for punishment the international crimes, committed in the Russia-occupied Crimea, it is obvious that the discussion about special tribunals will at least give rise to healthy competition of the international bureaucracy, this is important in terms of the terms of approval of relevant decisions by ICC and other bodies such as European Court on Human Rights.
