Not just a ‘get Putin’ court
New tribunal to establish accountability for aggression against Ukraine
Nobody was surprised that President Putin failed to show up in Istanbul yesterday for peace talks with President Zelensky — except, perhaps, President Trump, who seemed to think the force of his personality could end the war in Ukraine. “Nothing's going to happen until Putin and I get together," he said yesterday.
Politicians from other countries — including the foreign secretary David Lammy — are relying instead on law. Ministers representing the 46 Council of Europe member states formally agreed on Wednesday to establish a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. That followed some three years’ preparatory work.
The tribunal’s aim is accountability. But will it achieve even that? And why do we need yet another international court?
That’s the subject of my of my latest column for the Law Society Gazette.