On May 14, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleksandr Karasevych and Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Iryna Mudra visited the city of Luxembourg.
The Ukrainian side delivered a letter on behalf of Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiha to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, containing an official request to launch the process of establishing, within the framework of the Council of Europe, the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.
Together with the letter, the Ukrainian delegation submitted draft documents necessary for the establishment of the tribunal, including: a bilateral Agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe on the establishment of the Special Tribunal, the Statute of the Special Tribunal, and an Enlarged Partial Agreement, which will govern the conditions of its support, funding, and other administrative aspects.
As a result of the meeting, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted a decision acknowledging the completion of work within the Core Group on the draft legal documents required for the establishment of the tribunal, and confirmed receipt of the official letter requesting the launch of the tribunal’s creation based on the legal proposals submitted by Ukraine.
"Today’s decision by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe marks the logical conclusion of two years of work by legal advisors of the Coalition of States (Core Group) on the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. Ensuring accountability for the crime of aggression is not only a matter of justice for Ukraine, but also a key prerequisite for restoring trust in the international legal order and a guarantee of lasting peace worldwide. We are grateful to the Council of Europe for its leading role in advancing the initiative to establish the Special Tribunal," stated Oleksandr Karasevych, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
The completion of procedural formalities within the Council of Europe will pave the way for the next step — the signing of a bilateral Agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe on the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.