Ukrainian authorities agree to hybrid format of tribunal for Russian war crimes in Ukraine

The Ukrainian government has admitted that it will not be able to gain support for its proposed tribunal format based on a UN General Assembly resolution, and has instead agreed to a slightly modified hybrid format.

Source. This was reported by Yevropeiska Pravda.

During the international conference on the special tribunal in Kyiv, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Smirnov explained that the Ukrainian model "did not take off" because several Western capitals, including Washington, fear that they themselves will be punished "according to the Russian scheme."

"The doctrine of international law is being held hostage by global politics and geopolitics. And some of our partners are afraid that this precedent will be used against them, because they also conduct military campaigns abroad. And we need to speak honestly about this," he said.

According to Smirnov, Kyiv no longer rejects the possibility of creating a so-called internationalized tribunal, which the United States insists on, but on the condition that it is not based on the Ukrainian judicial system.

"This (a hybrid tribunal based on Ukrainian law – ed.) is an unacceptable model for Ukraine. But the creation of an internationalized tribunal does not necessarily mean the creation of a tribunal in the Ukrainian legal system," explained the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office.

"Therefore, a compromise may be the creation of an internationalized tribunal as part of the judicial system of another country whose judicial system is trustworthy," the official said.

According to Yevropeiska Pravda, the special tribunal for the crime of aggression will be established in The Hague and will operate under Dutch law. The Dutch government has already given its preliminary consent.

The Hague is convenient because other international courts operate there, and there will also be a Russian crime register where evidence of the scale of the aggression will be collected; they have experience in conducting a trial for an international crime, such as the MH17 case. In addition, Dutch law has an acceptable definition of the crime of aggression.

Smirnov believes that the format of a special tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine can be determined by the end of the year.

As a reminder, on July 3, an international office to investigate Russia's invasion of Ukraine was opened in The Hague, which will be the first step towards a possible tribunal for the leadership of the aggressor country.