On 9 May 2025, foreign ministers met in Lviv, Ukraine, announcing the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. The Tribunal builds on resolutions by the UN General Assembly, deploring Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter. It will be established in the framework of the Council of Europe and based on an agreement with Ukraine.
‘Now, as the core documents for establishing the Special Tribunal have been completed, it is up to the states to join forces and support its establishment and operations. States worldwide are called upon to support the Tribunal and the fundamental principles of international law it embodies’, said Berit Lindeman, Secretary General.
The NHC has called for Norway, Europe, and the wider international community to ensure that those responsible for Russia’s military attack on Ukraine will be held accountable.
‘The Special Tribunal answers that call since the International Criminal Court (ICC) lacks jurisdiction for this crime’, said Gunnar M. Ekeløve-Slydal, Deputy Secretary General. ‘The Tribunal should receive maximum support in the years to come so that it can fulfil its mandate: to investigate and bring to justice those planning, preparing, initiating or executing Russia’s attack on Ukraine as far as possible.’
Even if the so-called ‘troika’ – Russia’s President, Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister – cannot be brought to justice for the crime of aggression while in office due to international law provisions, the Tribunal represents a historic breakthrough for the principle that a military attack on another country is an international crime.
‘However, as we celebrate the establishment of the Special Tribunal, we must not forget the need to support those documenting war crimes in Ukraine’, said Lindeman. ‘The crime of aggression is the most serious international crime committed against Ukraine, but every war crime committed in the context of this primordial crime creates enormous human and societal suffering and must be met by justice efforts. The states supporting the Tribunal must continue to support Ukraine, international, and civil society documentation and prosecution of war crimes.’