Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression in Ukraine - The Promise of Justice and Premise of Lasting Peace

The Office of the President and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine began advocating for the creation of a mechanism to prosecute Russia’s political and military leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine in March 2022, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed a peace plan in October 2022, which outlined the proposal to establish a special tribunal. The proposal received the support of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament.

Since early 2023, a coalition of States known as the 'Core Group' met regularly to discuss different options for the creation of the Special Tribunal. Members of the Core Group expressed support for establishing the Special Tribunal through an agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe (CoE). In April 2024 the Committee of Ministers of the CoE authorised its Secretary General to prepare a draft agreement between the Council and Ukraine for the establishment of the Tribunal.

In March 2025, the Core Group finalised the documents for the creation of the Tribunal. The agreement on the establishment of the Special Tribunal was signed in Lviv on 9 May 2025 by the CoE, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, the Commission of the European Union, and representatives of States that are part of the Core Group. The CoE Secretary General formally initiated the process to set up the Special Tribunal at the annual session of the CoE’s Committee of Ministers in Luxembourg on 14 May 2025.

Join Mark Ellis, Executive Director of the International Bar Association, Michael Cooper, the Executive Director of the American Society of International Law, and several other speakers to be announced, in an in-depth discussion on the status of the Tribunal and the opportunities its creation presents.

Attendees may register either for in-person or virtual attendance.