Committee of Ministers of Council of Europe approves agreement to establish Special Tribunal

According to Ukrinform, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported this.

“During the meeting, 37 countries adopted a decision to approve the Enlarged Partial Agreement on the Management Committee of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine—the third founding document of the Special Tribunal,” the statement noted.

As reported by Ukrinform, on June 25, 2025, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed an agreement with the Council of Europe at the Palace of Europe in Strasbourg, establishing the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.

On July 15, 2025, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law ratifying the Agreement on establishing a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine .

On January 23, 2026, Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset announced the signing of an agreement among the Council of Europe, the European Commission, and the European External Action Service establishing a preparatory team for the future Special Tribunal to investigate the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

The conclusion of an expanded partial agreement on the steering committee at the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in Moldova makes it possible to launch all mechanisms of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.

Once the preparatory stages are complete, the tribunal is to proceed to full-scale operations, including investigations, the filing of charges, judicial proceedings, and the rendering of judgments regarding the crime of aggression.

The Special Tribunal is an international mechanism designed to hold Russia’s top political and military leadership accountable, specifically for the criminal decision to launch and wage an aggressive war against Ukraine.

Photo: Council of Europe