German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has come out in favour of Ukraine’s proposal to institute a special tribunal to prosecute war crimes committed by Russia.
Speaking in front of The Hague Academy of International Law on Monday, Baerbock acknowledged that the task of bringing the Russian leadership to justice over its war in Ukraine pushes the International Criminal Court (ICC) to the limits of its power.
To help bridge this gap, she spoke out in favour of establishing a special tribunal that should be situated outside Ukraine but base its jurisdiction on Ukrainian criminal law.
“The fact that we need this special solution is because there is this gap in current international law,” the minister stressed.
Establishing a new court to hold Russia accountable was first proposed by Kyiv, and Baerbock said that she had discussed the idea with her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, during her visit to Kharkiv last week.
While Ukraine has not ratified the Rome Statute that forms the legal basis for the International Criminal Court, it signed a so-called declaration of submission in 2014, in which it authorised the ICC to investigate crimes on its territory. Meanwhile, Moscow has not ratified the Statute either, which now stands in the way of the court holding Russian leadership to account.
Baerbock therefore also called to extend the ICC’s jurisdiction to crimes of aggression. “This means that for the crime of aggression, like genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, it must be sufficient that the victim state is party to the treaty,” she stressed.
(Julia Dahm | EURACTIV.de)
Source: euractiv.com
