The Commission and High Representative Kaja Kallas welcome a major step towards holding Russia accountable for its war of aggression against Ukraine

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

Today, senior legal experts of the European Commission, the European External Action Service, the Council of Europe, Ukraine and 37 States laid down the legal foundations for the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. The participants also set out the key elements of the “Schuman draft Statute”, the core legal text that will govern the functioning of the Special Tribunal. 

President Ursula von der Leyen said: “When Russia chose to roll its tanks over Ukraine’s borders, breaking the UN Charter, it committed one of the gravest violations: the Crime of Aggression. Now, justice is coming. Justice for Ukraine. We have laid down the legal foundations for a Special Tribunal. There can also be no justice without compensation. Russia must be held accountable for its aggression – and it must pay. We made a first step towards a Claims Commission with the participation of the EU. This new body will determine claims recorded in the Register of Damage.”

Once operational, the Tribunal will have the power to hold to account Russian political and military leaders, who bear the greatest responsibility for the crime of aggression. Today’s meeting is a breakthrough in a continuing process towards ensuring accountability for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, as well as for upholding the international criminal justice system.

Today, the European Commission also adopted a Recommendation to the Council to participate in the formal negotiations to set up an International Claims Commission for Ukraine. The Claims Commission will be the body responsible to review, assess and decide eligible claims recorded in the Register of Damage and determine the amount of compensation due in each case. The establishment of the Claims Commission will be a crucial step towards the compensation of victims of the war.

The Claims Commission will build on the work of the Register of Damage, which serves as a record of damages, loss or injury caused by the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

Next steps

The Special Tribunal will be established by an agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the Council of Europe. It will derive its jurisdiction from Ukraine. The Council of Europe will be in charge of the procedure for adoption of the draft legal instruments necessary for the establishment of the Special Tribunal and subsequent signature.

For the Claims Commission, the first round of negotiations for the international instrument will start towards the end of March 2025.

Background

Once the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine is established, Ukrainian national authorities will be able to refer ongoing domestic investigations and prosecutions related to the crime of aggression to the Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal, as well as to transmit relevant information and evidence gathered in the context of the work carried out within the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression (ICPA).

The establishment of the Tribunal within the Council of Europe’s institutional framework, as well as the presence of international judges and relevant applicable international law, will ensure that criminal proceedings are conducted in respect of the highest procedural safeguards and applicable international human rights law.

Timeline

• On 24 February 2022, Russia launched its unprovoked and illegal full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine, in violation of the international rules-based order, common principles and rules, and the UN Charter.
• In March 2022, an EU Joint Investigation Team (JIT) was set up with the support of Eurojust into core international crimes committed in Ukraine. Following the discoveries of atrocities committed in Bucha and other liberated areas of Ukraine, the Commission pledged to support the investigation and prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine.
• In May 2022, the co-legislators approved the Commission’s proposal to reinforce Eurojust’s mandate to collect and preserve evidence of war crimes. With support of the Commission, in June 2023, the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) started its operations in the Hague. Embedded in the Joint Investigation Team, the ICPA provides a coordination structure to support and enhance ongoing and future investigations into the crime of aggression and contribute to the exchange and analysis of evidence gathered since the start of the Russian aggression.
• In November 2023, the Commission presented different options to the Member States to ensure accountability for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. In January 2023, the first meeting of the Core Group on the establishment of a Special Tribunaltook place, with the objective of determining the most appropriate model of Tribunal for the prosecution of Russian leaders for the crime of aggression.
• In May 2023, the Register of Damage started operations in the Hague. The Register is an international body responsible to record claims of compensation for damages, loss, or injury caused by the war of aggression against Ukraine. In July 2023, the EU became a full member of the Register of Damage.
• Since April 2024, Ukrainian citizens and residents can submit claims for damage or destruction of residential immovable property to the Register. In addition, since 16 January 2025, the Register is recording claims for the death of an immediate family member.
• The Recommendation to open up negotiations to set up a Claims Commission builds on the UN General Assembly Resolution “Furtherance of remedy and reparation for aggression against Ukraine” from November 2022. Such resolution recognised the need to hold the Russian Federation accountable for its acts of aggression in Ukraine and the need for an international compensation mechanism.