Landmark Agreement Signed: Special Tribunal for Ukraine Aggression Crime to Be Established

Landmark Agreement Signed: Special Tribunal for Ukraine Aggression Crime to Be Established

The crime of aggression specifically refers to the decision to use armed force against another state in violation of the United Nations Charter.

RMN News Political Desk
June 26, 2025

Kyiv/Strasbourg – Ukraine and the Council of Europe have signed a pivotal agreement to establish a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, including its Statute. The historic signing occurred between Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Alain Berset, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. This development follows the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, comprising representatives from its 46 member states, authorizing Secretary General Berset to sign the agreement.

Secretary General Berset hailed the signing as a reminder that “international law must apply to all — with no exceptions, and with no double standards”. He underscored that the tribunal will “judge between victims and aggressors, between impunity and accountability,” asserting that “without accountability, there can be no lasting peace for Ukraine and Europe as a whole”.

President Zelenskyy articulated Ukraine’s pursuit of justice, stating, “Every war criminal must know: there will be justice, and that includes Russia”. He expressed gratitude to the Council of Europe for its leadership, emphasizing that while “Justice takes time, but it must happen,” today’s agreement and the tribunal provide a “real chance to bring justice for the crime of aggression”. President Zelenskyy also highlighted the necessity of this tribunal, noting that “Other institutions don’t have the tools to do this”.

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Ian Borg, Malta’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, who serves as the Chair of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, called the agreement “living proof that genuine international cooperation, grounded in legal clarity and political courage, can achieve what once might have seemed improbable”.

Filling a Crucial Legal Gap

The agreement between the Council of Europe and Ukraine outlines that the Special Tribunal’s creation is the “most suitable solution to determine criminal accountability in the case of those individuals who bear the greatest responsibility for the crime of aggression against Ukraine” and aims to “avoid duplication of prosecutions at national level against the same individuals”.

The crime of aggression specifically refers to the decision to use armed force against another state in violation of the United Nations Charter. While the International Criminal Court (ICC) has the jurisdiction to investigate war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Ukraine, it currently cannot examine the crime of aggression in this specific case due to jurisdictional limitations. The Special Tribunal is designed to fill this critical gap.

Next Steps and Broader Efforts

The establishment of this Special Tribunal was initially requested by Ukrainian authorities on May 13, 2025, and subsequently endorsed by the Council of Europe foreign ministers at their annual meeting the following day.

With the agreement now signed, various interested parties, including Council of Europe members, non-member states worldwide, and the European Union, will now consider joining an Enlarged Partial Agreement (EPA) concerning the management of the Special Tribunal. Once states indicate their desire to participate, the Committee of Ministers will resume work to formally establish the EPA.

Ukraine, a member state since 1995, remains a top priority for the Council of Europe. This focus is also evident in the organization’s ongoing work on the Register of Damage, which has already received over 34,000 claims, and continued efforts to establish a Claims Commission. It is also noted that the European Court of Human Rights is the only international court currently adjudicating human rights violations within the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.