Preparatory team for special tribunal on Russian aggression to work in Strasbourg, Netherlands

The preparatory team for the future Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine will operate in Strasbourg and the Netherlands.

International criminal law expert and Executive Director of the International Bar Association (IBA) Mark Ellis said in an exclusive comment to Ukrinform.

He explained that the preparatory team would constitute Phase 0 of a three-phase approach to establishing the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression (STCA). According to Ellis, work will begin with a small team operating for approximately 1.5 to 2 years in both Strasbourg and the Netherlands before fully relocating to the Netherlands. During this period, the team will develop the institutional architecture of the STCA, including internal rules and procedures, staffing frameworks, and security requirements, and will also identify premises in The Hague for the so-called "skeleton" tribunal phase. He added that the European Union had allocated EUR 10 million to support this phase.

Commenting on whether the preparatory team would be involved in selecting judges and the prosecutor of the Special Tribunal, Ellis noted that this would not be its focus. He said that the selection and appointment of key personnel, including judges and the prosecutor, would take place during Phase 1, when the "skeleton" tribunal is established, and would be carried out by a steering committee based on the groundwork laid during Phase 0.

Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset earlier announced the signing of an agreement between the Council of Europe, the European Commission, and the European External Action Service to establish a preparatory team for the future Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.

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