Must be created before the end of the war: how an international tribunal over the occupiers can work

An international special tribunal to try the Russian military-political leadership can probably be created before the end of 2024. They are considering several options regarding this.

However, in parallel with this, the International Criminal Court is working, which issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, the so-called “plenipotentiary under the President of Russia for children's rights” Maria Lvova-Belova and two Russian generals. About thisPolitical scientist Oleg Sahakyan stated to Channel 24 , noting that the decision regarding the latter was declassified.

Therefore, it can be assumed that in the secret part there may be other war criminals, who are brought to justice.

“ISS works individually on specific war criminals and specific war crimes,” said Sahakyan.

Tribunal over the military-political elite of Russia

The Tribunal may be directed in respect of the crime of aggression. This is the crime that is easiest to prove, in which there is a narrow field of people who are criminals. We are talking about military-political leadership of Russia. In fact, those who made the decision on aggression against Ukraine. That is, Putin and his entourage.

“This is the tribunal that can rely on the decision to recognize Russian aggression, its condemnation by the UN General Assembly, other international appeals, positions, and the like “It can also use the commission of war crimes by Russian citizens as an organizational basis,” added the political scientist.

Tribunal for certain crimes

We are talking about crimes that occurred in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war. That is, they talk about calls for genocide, repression in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, mobilization from there, and the like. This is all a violation of international humanitarian law.

Tribunal over the Putin regime

It could also be tribunal over the regime of Vladimir Putin and condemnation as such of the “Russian world” and aggressive misanthropic ideology.

“There is a debate going on around this now, because Besides the topics they can deal with, and, accordingly, the regulatory framework that must be prepared, there is an element of how to create this collective tribunal,” noted Oleg Sahakyan.

Forms for creating a tribunal

For example, first option – this could be a national tribunal. That is, Ukraine, based on international law, can create its own tribunal and make a decision.

Another option – tribunal multilateral treaties between Ukraineand many other countries that are also investigating these crimes. After all, they often have an extraterritorial character. In many countries there are norms of national legislation that allow the investigation of crimes of aggression against humanity and humanity, regardless of where they were committed.

These could be multilateral treaties and, within the framework of them, the creation of a coalition of Ukraine for this tribunal. This is more difficult because in this case the issue of representativeness arises. It may be 20, 30, 40, 50 countries, but a hundred countries remain “overboard,” said the political scientist.

We are talking primarily about the countries of the Global South and ” friends” of Russia.

The third option – tribunal based on the Council of Europe. There is talk about a bilateral agreement and the search for support among a number of countries that, in a political sense, recognize this tribunal and its decisions.

“Actually, all these processes are related to the need to create normative legal justification, institutional basis – that is, the organizational part of this – and politically ensure high representativeness and legitimacy,” Sahakyan noted.

The political scientist noted that the tribunal should be created still before the end of the war. However, he will be able to earn his full strength after its finale. Then it will be possible to reach specific war criminals at the highest level and restore justice.

Special Tribunal for Russia

• The conference “Restoring Justice for Ukraine” was recently held in The Hague. 44 of the 57 states that participated in the event signed a political declaration and supported the creation of a special tribunal for Russia for crimes against Ukraine. The Netherlands proposed holding this tribunal on its territory.
• Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba noted that most countries now clearly understand that there is no alternative to creating a full-fledged tribunal. The Foreign Minister thanked the countries that recognize that achieving results in this matter is important. stage”. There are two main options currently being considered. The first is an international tribunal based on a multilateral agreement. The second is a simplified solution – based on a bilateral agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe.