An international office to investigate Russia’s invasion of Ukraine opened Monday in The Hague, which is seen as a first step toward the possibility of establishing a tribunal to try Russian leaders.
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The International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine (ICPA) brings together prosecutors from Kyiv, the European Union, the United States and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
This form of prosecution has the task of investigation and evidence gathering. It is envisaged as a first step before the creation of a special tribunal to try senior Russian officials for the outbreak of war in Ukraine, at the request of Kiev.
As part of the inauguration of the International Criminal Court for Dispute Settlement, several senior officials will hold a press conference at the headquarters of the European Union’s judicial agency in The Hague at 9:15 GMT, Eurojust said in a statement.
They include Ukrainian Attorney General Andrei Kostin, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan, Deputy US Attorney General Kenneth Pollitt and European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, reports Eurojust.
Calls have multiplied for the creation of a special court dedicated to the war in Ukraine, since the ICC has jurisdiction only to try war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine.
The court, also sitting in The Hague, issued an arrest warrant in March against Russian President Vladimir Putin over the alleged deportation of Ukrainian children.
Kiev has been seeking to establish a special court since the discovery of hundreds of bodies after the withdrawal of Russian forces in April 2022 from the town of Bucha near the Ukrainian capital.
International support grew steadily and in February the European Commission announced the creation of the ICPA.
Brussels said the center “aims to ultimately prosecute those responsible for the invasion” of Ukraine.
The United States’ participation increased the call for a special court, although Washington still refuses to become a member of the International Criminal Court.
During a visit to The Hague in June, US Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed the Special Prosecutor for the Crime of Aggression, Jessica Kim, as his representative to the International Criminal Court for Criminal Police.
The complex issue of the functioning of such a court remains unresolved.
Ukraine supports obtaining a resolution from the UN General Assembly.
But some of Kiev’s Western backers fear the initiative lacks international support and are calling instead for the creation of a hybrid court composed of judges from Ukraine and other nationalities.
