President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset signed an Agreement on the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine. More details regarding the jurisdiction and powers of the tribunal were announced by the press service of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, reports UNN.
Details
This tribunal has the power to investigate the crime of aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which consists of the following actions:
- planning;
- preparation;
- initiation or execution of an act of aggression by a person who has the ability to effectively control the political or military actions of the state and manage them.
This crime, by its nature, gravity and scale, is a gross violation of the UN Charter. At the same time, the jurisdiction of the tribunal covers only crimes of Russian aggression against Ukraine – other crimes, such as genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, will be considered in other international instances.
Regardless of the position of the accused (president, head of government, parliament, deputy or other official of the Russian Federation), he will not be exempt from responsibility for the crimes committed, nor will the punishment be mitigated, the Ministry of Justice emphasized. In this situation, the functional immunity of the accused will not be applied either.
In addition, this tribunal will cooperate with the International Criminal Court on all issues of mutual interest. The agreement on the establishment of the tribunal will enter into force after the fulfillment of three conditions:
- its signing by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe;
- notification by Ukraine of the completion of internal
procedures;
- conclusion of an Expanded Partial Agreement.
Recall
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the creation of a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine is only the beginning. Now strong cooperation is needed so that every Russian criminal appears before the court, including the dictator Vladimir Putin.