Ukraine Tribunal Could Try Russian Leaders for Aggression

Andrew Clapham, a British professor of international law, told BIRN that focusing on the crime of aggression could mean that "individuals who ordered and planned the invasion" are brought to justice at a special tribunal.

Clapham argued that it would be "easier to identify those people than necessarily the commanders who have been responsible for the targeting decisions and the war crimes".

"So the reason why people are talking about aggression is that it would be fairly clear-cut who were the authors of the aggression and who was in control of the Russian armed forces of that time," he explained.

He said that such a case would cover "all of the deaths that are a result of the aggression, including Ukrainian soldiers".

"It would also cover all of the destruction, even destruction of military bases, and one would not need to show that something was disproportionate or question whether there was a military objective, all of the damage would be covered by that aggression," he added.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, proceedings have already been launched at the International Court of Justice and at the International Criminal Court. Various countries have also established investigative teams to probe incidents that could constitute war crimes.

A group of international lawyers and professors, led by former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, recently launched a campaign to set up a special tribunal for Ukraine which would focus on the crime of aggression.

They said that the Russian invasion "poses a grave challenge to the post-1945 international order, one premised on the idea of the rule of law and principles of self-determination for all peoples and the prohibition of the use of force".

They argued...

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