Ursula Von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, welcomed the establishment of the International Center for the Prosecution of Crimes of Aggression Against Ukraine (ICPA) on Saturday.
“The European Union supports the role of the International Criminal Court (ICC). We also believe that a special court should be established to prosecute Russian crimes of aggression,” von der Leyen said in a statement.
Brussels, the German promised, will continue to work with its partners to “make sure Russia pays” for its crimes, underlining that there is a consensus so that there is “justice for Ukraine”.
“The invasion of Russia has brought unspeakable suffering to Ukraine. Almost a year ago, the world discovered the horrors of Bucha. I was there myself and witnessed the atrocities committed by Russian troops,” he added.
According to von der Leyen, “there is increasing evidence of direct attacks against civilians”, as well as against power and other structural infrastructure.
“Torture, beatings, sexual assaults and summary executions are known to have been committed by Russian troops. Even children are not spared. Russia must be held accountable for these heinous crimes. Putin must be held accountable,” he said.
“We must do everything we can to bring the perpetrators to justice,” he added.
The amendment to the existing Joint Investigation Team at the European Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) will be signed at a conference this weekend in Ukraine to facilitate the installation of ICPA within the structure of that judicial system. body European.
According to a note from the commission, a Joint Investigation Team has been set up with the support of Eurojust to collect evidence and investigate major international crimes in Ukraine, comprising the International Criminal Court, Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Romania.
The Eurojust Regulation has been amended to give this European agency the legal capacity to securely hold, store and analyze evidence of international crimes. The judicial database was launched in February 2023.
The International Criminal Court is competent to try the most serious international crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. It is also authorized to prosecute the crime of aggression, but only in relation to countries that have accepted its jurisdiction over this crime.
The crime of aggression is a crime committed by the highest political authority and military leadership of a country. Since Russia does not accept the ICC’s jurisdiction, the court cannot exercise this jurisdiction in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
To close this loophole, in November 2022 the European Commission presented several options to member states to ensure that Russian citizens are held accountable for atrocities committed in Ukraine, including through the establishment of a court that is supported by the UN and the international community to effectively prosecute the crime of aggression.
The ICPA is a first step in this process of preserving evidence and preparing the prosecution for future litigation, both nationally and internationally.
Source: DN
