Putin on trial for aggression?
Putin on trial for aggression?
Ukraine’s prosecutor calls on states to create new tribunal
Ukraine’s senior prosecutor Andriy Kostin said last night that the Russia’s invasion 16 months ago was not merely Ukraine’s war: it was “a global war that is putting international peace and security at risk”.
The prosecutor general disclosed that an international centre for the prosecution of the crime of aggression would be launched next week in The Hague.
Kostin hoped that this would close an “accountability gap”; Ukraine was well aware that, at present, Russia’s leaders could not be prosecuted for what he described as the leadership crime. Establishing “an ad hoc special international tribunal represents the most legitimate solution and response towards Russia’s impunity”, he added.
Kostin was speaking from Ukraine to a forum in London arranged by the Slynn Foundation, a UK based charity working with senior judges and justice institutions around the world to enhance the rule of law. Supporters have made a series of visits to Kiev over the years to assist with judicial training.
Other speakers at the forum were the attorney general, Victoria Prentis KC, the UK’s former ambassador to Ukraine Simon Smith CMG and the newly elected Ukraine Supreme Court president Stanislav Kravchenko.
The establishment of an international centre for the prosecution of the crime of aggression — to be known as the ICPA — was agreed at an international conference in March. An EU announcement said the new body would preserve evidence in a secure location and prepare for for future trials involving crimes of aggression, whether national or international.
Kostin said last night that Ukraine was seeing increasing international support for the idea. It was a “first step in the right direction”.
Responding to questions, Kostin said Ukranians wanted to see Putin in the dock, together with Russia’s prime minister and foreign minister — the so-called troika.
But a note of caution was sounded by the attorney general. “With the international tribunal,” Prentis said, “we have challenges about justiciability; we have challenges of troika immunity.” However, the UK was part of a core group of countries that were seeking to work through these challenges.
Sir Stephen Irwin, the former appeal judge who chairs the Slynn Foundation, pressed Kostin on the international support that would be needed before the new international centre could become an international tribunal.
You can listen here to the prosecutor’s response. I also asked a follow-up question.
In summary, Kostin said that setting up a tribunal would demonstrate the collective commitment of the civilised world to prosecute and to punish an aggressor for the act of aggression. It would also deter such acts in future.
Without spelling out the concerns of other countries — which clearly want to ensure that their own current or former leaders are not charged with launching aggressive wars — the prosecutor hinted that a compromise might be found between an international tribunal and an “internationalised” tribunal.
The United States said in March that “an internationalised court that is rooted in Ukraine’s judicial system, but that also includes international elements, will provide the clearest path to establishing a new tribunal and maximising our chances of achieving meaningful accountability”.
Asked about the chances of arresting Putin and other Russians, Kostin said that nobody had expected to see the Serbian leaders Slobodan Milošević and Radovan Karadžić on trial in The Hague. It was important to collect evidence now.
International Criminal Court
Kostin said Ukraine’s aim was to secure a “comprehensive web of accountability, eliminating any opportunity of safe havens for war criminals”. The decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in March to issue an arrest warrant for Putin and his children’s commissioner, accusing them of committing war crimes by unlawfully transferring children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia, was a “historic decision” that marked the beginning of the enforcement of justice and accountability for Ukraine on the international level.
He continued:
It demonstrates that no one is, or should be, above the law. At the same time, it is an exceptional example of complementarity. Whereas we, as national authorities, are paralysed to investigate and prosecute Putin due to his personal immunity, we see the ICC stepping forward, with the office of the prosecutor acting in a speedy and efficient manner. Now, the priority is to ensure state cooperation so that the war criminal Putin is surrendered to the ICC.
Kostin ended by expressing his sincere gratitude to the United Kingdom for its “unwavering and continuous support”.
The Slynn Foundation was founded in 1997 by HH George Dobry CBE QC (1918-2018) in honour of Lord Slynn of Hadley (1930-2009). I have fond memories of them both.