Office to investigate Russian invasion of Ukraine opened in The Hague

This is reported by the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine.

"This is the beginning of the end of impunity for the crime of aggression. Starting today, Ukrainian prosecutors will work in The Hague. Representatives of the JIT from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Romania will join them in the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) at the initial stage. The US Special Prosecutor for the Crime of Aggression will support the Center's activities. Other countries and institutions will be able to join in the coming months," said Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin.

The Prosecutor General’s Office noted that the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) is a unique judicial center integrated into Eurojust to facilitate national investigations of the crime of aggression related to the war in Ukraine. Through the ICPA, independent prosecutors from different countries will be able to cooperate in a single location on a daily basis, share evidence quickly and efficiently, and agree on a common investigation and prosecution strategy. The ICPA will facilitate the efficient preparation of cases and will participate in any future prosecution of the crime of aggression, regardless of the jurisdiction in which the cases are filed.

According to The Guardian, the creation of this office could be a step to the establishment of a special tribunal that could bring Kremlin officials to justice for starting the war in Ukraine.

The International Centre for the Prosecution of Crimes of Aggression (ICPA) consists of prosecutors from Kyiv, the European Union, the United States, and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The main purpose of this office is to investigate and gather evidence of the aggression. This investigation is seen as a possible precursor to establishing a special tribunal that could hold Kremlin officials accountable for initiating the war in Ukraine.

What we know about the establishment of a special tribunal against the Russian Federation

The reason for creating a special tribunal is that the International Criminal Court in Ukraine can only investigate crimes like genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed by Russian terrorists. It cannot address Russia's aggression because Ukraine did not sign the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and Russia withdrew its signature in 2016. The United Nations also has limited capabilities in this matter. Hence, the idea of forming a special tribunal emerged to investigate Russia's crime against peace, hold the leadership of the Russian Federation accountable, and prevent them from evading responsibility.

On May 9, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen convened a summit with 37 member countries of the coalition to discuss the special tribunal over the Russian Federation.

In June, the President's Office announced that 38 countries had already expressed support for this proposal.

On June 13, President Zelenskyy instructed the drafting of a resolution for the United Nations General Assembly, emphasizing the necessity of establishing a special international tribunal for the crimes committed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine. Additionally, on July 1, the OSCE PA (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly) supported the creation of the special tribunal.