Russian Federation Policy
This is how the "Putin Tribunal" could work
Xenia Polska
9 minutes ago
The Russian aggression against Ukraine requires not only political and military responses. Only an independent investigation could guarantee justice. Could such a tribunal exist?
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Will Russia ever be held accountable for its crimes in Ukraine? Plans are already underway to create a special tribunal, but nothing has been decided politically yet. Details of the tribunal, which will be based in the Council of Europe, are still secret. What is certain is that Vladimir Putin cannot be prosecuted while he is president, as heads of state enjoy immunity. However, unofficially it is known as the "Putin Tribunal," because in international jurisprudence, the highest command of a country is considered responsible for aggression against another state.
The tribunal could already investigate Russian leaders and possibly Belarusian ones, says Jörg Polakiewicz, head of the Legal Advice and International Law Department of the Council of Europe. However, the Council of Europe does not have the same powers as the UN Security Council, which can lift the immunity of the three highest-ranking officials of a country: the president, the prime minister, and the foreign minister.
"The Special Tribunal will not judge Putin in absentia while he is president of Russia," confirmed a representative of the European Union (EU) in Brussels. The same applies to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. "This is, of course, absurd," criticizes Oleksandra Matwijtschuk, director of the Center for Civil Liberties, who hopes the court will be able to punish those responsible for the crimes. She and her colleagues have been gathering evidence for eleven years since the Russian aggression began in eastern Ukraine.
Who can be investigated?
Investigations are also underway against about two dozen Russian officials listed by Ukraine, according to a source who requested anonymity. Consequently, the tribunal will focus on high-ranking political and military officials responsible for planning and executing the aggression.
Matwijtschuk recalls that the Nuremberg trials against Nazi Germany were not limited to the main leaders of the regime. "It was clear that not just three people were responsible for the crimes," she says. Regarding the "Putin Tribunal," it still remains to determine who comprises the decision-making circle in Russia.
https://p.dw.com/p/4tbf3
Russian Federation Policy
This is how the "Putin Tribunal" could work
Xenia Polska
14 minutes ago
The Russian aggression against Ukraine requires not only political and military responses. Only an independent investigation could guarantee justice. Could such a tribunal exist?
https://p.dw.com/p/4tbf3
Advertising
Will Russia ever be held accountable for its crimes in Ukraine? Plans are already underway to create a special tribunal, but nothing has been decided politically yet. Details of the tribunal, which will be based in the Council of Europe, are still secret. What is certain is that Vladimir Putin cannot be prosecuted while he is president, as heads of state enjoy immunity. However, unofficially it is known as the "Putin Tribunal," because in international jurisprudence, the highest command of a country is considered responsible for aggression against another state.
The tribunal could already investigate Russian leaders and possibly Belarusian ones, says Jörg Polakiewicz, head of the Legal Advice and International Law Department of the Council of Europe. However, the Council of Europe does not have the same powers as the UN Security Council, which can lift the immunity of the three highest-ranking officials of a country: the president, the prime minister, and the foreign minister.
"The Special Tribunal will not judge Putin in absentia while he is president of Russia," confirmed a representative of the European Union (EU) in Brussels. The same applies to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. "This is, of course, absurd," criticizes Oleksandra Matwijtschuk, director of the Center for Civil Liberties, who hopes the tribunal will be able to punish those responsible for the crimes. She and her colleagues have been gathering evidence for eleven years since the Russian aggression began in eastern Ukraine.
Who can be investigated?
Investigations are also underway against about two dozen Russian officials listed by Ukraine, according to a source who requested anonymity. Consequently, the tribunal will focus on high-ranking political and military officials responsible for planning and executing the aggression.
Matwijtschuk recalls that the Nuremberg trials against Nazi Germany were not limited to the main leaders of the regime. "It was clear that not just three people were responsible for the crimes," she says. Regarding the "Putin Tribunal," it still remains to determine who comprises the decision-making circle in Russia.
Gleb Bogush, from the Institute of International Law of Peace and Security at the University of Cologne, Germany, believes that there are probably about twenty people involved. "The tribunal should clarify that," he emphasizes.
Criticism of the Special Tribunal
Bogush believes that the creators of the tribunal have practically acknowledged the privileges that Putin has and have thus confirmed their thesis that he is untouchable. He also criticizes the Council of Europe for not declaring Putin an illegitimate president. The decision to grant him immunity is a dangerous signal that could be interpreted as an invitation to ignore the orders of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Putin.
However, the Council of Europe believes that "the formula found for the tribunal will be sufficient to ensure accountability and combat impunity." Personal immunity is by no means a "license for impunity," the entity told DW. The question that remains is what period the tribunal will consider. "The war did not start in February 2022, but in February 2014," emphasizes Matwijtschuk. She fears that the illegal annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine will go unnoticed, which would have legal consequences for those who suffered in those eight years prior to the large-scale invasion, as well as for the restoration of international law and the return of the occupied Ukrainian territories.
The court was located in the Council of Europe because the UN was not considered the appropriate site, as Russia could ultimately block such a project in the Security Council. The ICC was also not considered due to its jurisdiction only extending to countries that have signed the Rome Statute, and Russia is not among them.
Although Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe due to its attack on Ukraine, experts estimate that the fact that both the aggressor and the victim were part of the entity at the beginning of the conflict gives it sufficient legitimacy.